Cardcaptor Sakura Part 2
by WinxC1ub
Summary: This is a continuation of Cardcaptor Sakura which starts not long after the original left off. In this, Sakura meets new friends, new enemies, and gets new powers. Enjoy. PS: While I do apreciate constructive criticism, please don't be rude about it.
1. Sakura, and the New Beggining

As morning breaks over the Kinomoto home, Sakura was still sound asleep in bed when her alarm clock began to go off. True to her usual routine, Sakura reached over to her clock, turned it off, and crawled back in bed to sleep a little more. Kero, now awake, flew over and tried to wake the stubborn Cardcaptor.

"Sakura. Hey, Sakura. You were supposed to meet Tomoyo at the park today remember."

"Oh yea, that's right I forgot!"

Kero looked solemly at Sakura as she rushed out of bed to get dressed. "Tomorrow is the start of the third trimester right? Did you finish your summer homework?"

"Yea, I finished it yesterday."

"You? Kinomoto Sakura, actually did your homework?" Sakura scolded Kero for the rude remark and then hurried downstairs for breakfast. When she walked into the kitchen, she found Toya was already making breakfast.

"The monster is up early this morning."

" How manny times do I have to tell you not to call me that?"

"Well, I guess you will need the extra time if you're to finish all your homework before tommorow."

"Humph, I already finish it for your information." Toya was dumbfounded at this statement, but his lack of speach only seamed to make Sakura angrier.

After breakfast, Sakura strapped on her roller blades and headed out to meet Tomoyo. When she got there, she found Tomoyo was already there with a picnic blanket set out and sweets all around.

"Sakura, over here!" Sakura walked over to Tomoyo and sat down on the picnic blanket. "I have some sketches of new costumes I was thinking of making. Although, it's a shame that I won't be able to film you in them." Tomoyo got out a large stack of papers, each with a drawing of a different battle costume.

"But, if something were to happen, it could be a big mess."

"It would be alright. If it's you, I'm sure everything would work out fine." After looking through Tomoyo's drawings, Sakura pulled a plush bear out of her back pack. "Is that for Li?"

"Yea, it's a lot better than the one I made Yukito, but I still think something's missing." Tomoyo took the bear and looked over it carefully. Then, she shuffled through her drawings and got out a sketch of a frilly pink dress with several bows, wings that resembled Kero's, and a matching hat.

"How about this?" she asked, referring to the drawing. "I can make the designs for this costume, and you can make it for the bear. Then it really will be a Sakura bear."

"That's a great idea Tomoyo!" Tomoyo got to work on the designs for the bear's costume, and Sakura put some of the sweets away to bring home to Kero.

After Tomoyo finished the designs for the bear's costume, she and Sakura decided to call it a day. Sakura could not wait to get started on the costume and wanted to go to the craft store right away. Just as she was getting ready to leave, however, something seemed to catch her attention. "What is it Sakura?"

"I feel… a strange presence. I've never felt a presence like this before." Just then, the ground beneath them began to shoot upward, as if being pushed from underground.

"Sakura, do something!" Tomoyo panicked. Sakura was way ahead of her and had already gotten out the star key.

"Key which hides the powers of the stars," Sakura began, "show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. RELEASE!" Sakura out a SAKURA CARD, touched her wand to it and shouted "EARTHY" THE EARTHY card did the trick, and the ground slowly receded back down. However, having gotten too exited, Sakura lost her footing and slipped, plummeting towards the ground. As she fell, a familiar voice called out "Fuka Shorai!" and a large wind formed beneath Sakura, lowering her gently to the ground. Sakura looked around in search of whom it had been who saved her, praying it was who she thought. Her suspensions where confirmed when she saw Syaoran coming towards her.

"Sakura, are you alright?"

"Syaoran? What are you doing here?"

"My mother allowed me to move back to Japan. I'll be starting back at Tomoeda tommorow."

"That's great! Is Meilin here two?"

"No, but Wei did come with me. We figured we'd be staying here for a while, so we decided to buy a house this time instead of staying in a cramped apartment."

"You should have let me know you were comming."

"It was kind of sudden for me two, I didn't really have time to call you, so I thought I'd just suprise you at school tommorow. Then I felt that pressence just now. Are you alright? Hs anything been happening since I left?"

"No, this is the first time, and I'm fine."

"Well, in any case, we'd better be careful incase what ever that was comes back."Syaoran's expresion suddenly changed from serious, to seriously red. "Um, in the mean time... well, we've still got some unpacking to do... so, not today, but... would you, I mean... would you, like to come over... for dinner tommorrow?"

"Uh, s-sure. I'd like that."

"Really?"

"Yea. Actualy, I've got some things to do today two, so tomorrow's perfect."

"You still have summer homework?"

"No! Some other things. I've already finished all my homework."

"Really?"

"Yes! Why dose everyone suddenly assume I don't have my homework done yet?"

The next day, Sakura got to school early and was already 1/2 way done with the costume for the bear she would give to Syaoran later that night. She had finished the main part of the dress and was working on the biggest bow when Tomoyo walked in. "Morning Tomoyo."

"Good morning Sakura. The costume you are making for your bear is coming along rather well." Just then, the bell rang for class to begin and Mr. Terada walked into the room.

"Good morning class."

"Good morning."

"Today, we have two transfer students joining our class. One of them, is someone you all know rather well."Tomoyo turned to Sakura, and Sakura to Tomoyo.

"I thought Li said Meilin didn't come with him."

"He did."

"But who else could it be?"

The door to the room opened and the whole class turned around as Syaoran walked into the room. Everyone was exited to see him, but none as much as Sakura. Syaoran sat in his old seat behind Sakura, and Mr. Terada went on. "Our other transfer student comes to us all the way from America." He stopped and waited for the new student to come in, but no one did. Then, footsteps were heard down the hallway, and a boy with mid-length, blond hair and blue eyes entered the room.

"Sorry I'm late, but I could not find the room."

"I'll let it slid this time seeing as how it's your first day here. Now, would you please come up and say a few things about yourself."

The boy walked up to the front of the room while Mr. Terrada wrote his name on the board. "My name is Seth Livi, and my family and I just moved here from America a week ago." Mr. Terada directed Seth to the only remaining seat in the class room, behind Tomoyo. As soon as he took his seat, his gaze was instantly diverted to Sakura, and an easily jealous Syaoran gave him a deadly look.

Sakura continued working on her bear costume through lunch break. She had just finished putting the wings on the back when Seth walked up and cought her by suprise.

"Your really good at that."

"I'm not really that good, but it's eassier when you follow the instructions."

"You know, that reminds me of a story I once heard. They say that if you make a plush bear yourself, name it after yourself, and fige it to the person you like the most, the two of you will stay in love forever."

"I hear that two. Tomoyo told us that story last year."

"So is that why your making it?"

"Yea."

"Then who are you planning on giving it two?"

"Ah, to Li Syaoran. Oh, he sit's next to you in class, right behind me."

"Li? The one from Hong Kong?"

"Yea, he moved here back in 4th grade. He had to go back for a little bit, but now he's going to be staying here."

"I see. May I see it?"

"Hoe?"

"The bear your making."

"Oh, sure." Sakura put the finished costume on the bear and handed it to Seth.

"You did a really good job on this. I wish someone would make something like this for me. Hopefully someone as pretty as you."

"Thank you." Just then, the bell rang for the end of lunch. Seth gave the bear back to Sakura and the two of them headed back to class. The rest of the day left Sakura awaiting her dinner with Syaoran where she could give him the bear.

That night, Sakura went to Syaoran's house as planned. Afterwards, Syaoran walked Sakura home, taking a detour through the park along they way. When they came across a stream with a small bridge over it, Sakura asked Syaoran if she could speak with him about something. Sakura took the bear out of her backpack. "I-I made you something." she said, her voice shaky from nerves. Syaoran thanked her and reached out to take the bear, but just as he touched it, the bear's eyes began to glow a bright red. The bear flew out of Syaoran's hands and into the sky.

"This presence, it's the same as the one I felt yesterday." The bears eyes glowed brighter as beams shot out towards Sakura and Syaoran. Syaoran grabbed Sakura's hand and the raced off of the collapsing bridge, barely dodging the red beams. "Key which hides the power of the stars, show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. RELEASE!" Syaoran was also preparing for battle. He got out his magic sword and thunder oufada. "Reitei Shorai!" he shouted, and as the scroll touched the sword, a thunderbolt flew out towards the bear. But, as if there was a shield around it, the bear was unfazed by the attack. Keroberos and Yue, having also sensed the presence, flew in to help. Keroberos launched a flam attack on the bear, but it had the same effect as the last. Then, as the bear prepared to shoot at Syaoran, Yue launched a flurry of diamond-like shards at the bear, which hit at first, creating a gash in the bear's right leg, but then was deflected like Syaoran and Kero's. Sakura, whom the bear seamed to be engorging, thought about Yue's attack and what caused the slight break in it's defenses.

_That's it! It can be hit if it's attacking!_ As Sakura devised a means of defeating the bear, Syaoran, Kero and Yue began to tire. The bear fired at Syaoran, and even though he was able to dodge the full blow of the attack, the beams managed to hit his left ankle. Syaoran was down, and Kero and Yue were too far away to help him. As the bear prepared a final attack, Sakura got out a SAKURA CARD in hopes to save him in time. The bear launched it's attack. "MIRROR" Sakura shouted as THE MIRROR card was activated. The image of a young girl with long hair rapped in ribbons a long, flowing dress, and a medium sized mirror in her hands materialized in from of Syaoran. The beams, now headed for THE MIRROR card, bounced off the mirror in the girl's hands and rebound back at the bear. Sakura's plan worked! The beams hit the bear, and the tattered plush toy fell to the ground motionless. The danger gone, Sakura ran over to Syaoran.

"Are you alright Syaoran?" Syaoran nodded as Sakura helped him up. Yue transformed back into Yukito and offered to take Syaoran home. Keroberos returned to his disguised form as well and headed home with Sakura.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning, Sakura told Tomoyo about what had happened the night before.

"Oh my, are you alright Sakura?"

"I'm fine, but…"

"If you're worried about Li, I'm sure Tsukishiro took good care of him."

"But, it's not Syaoran I'm worried about. It's THE MIRROR card, I can't find it anywhere. And remember when I used EARTHY the day before? It's gone too."

"Did you drop them somewhere?"

"Kero thought that too, but when he went back to check, he couldn't find them.

When Syaoran walked in. Sakura told him about the missing cards. Then, Seth walked up to Sakura and handed her a flower. "Kinamoto," he said with a bright smile, "please don't look so sad. A smile suits you the best. Syaoran shot Seth another angry look. Sakura forced a smile and thanked Seth for the flower.

The next few days were spent searching for the missing cards. After nothing showed up, Sakura decided to call Eriol in England to tell him about the cards, and to see if he could possibly shed some light on things.

"You said the bear did not try to harm you?

"Yes, in fact it almost seemed as if it were after Syaoran."

"…"

"Eriol?"

"Sakura, do you remember when I told you that I was Clow Reed's reincarnation?"

"Sure I do."

"I'm not sure, but from what you've told me, it seems as if this is the work of Dijoso."

"Dijoso?"

"He was Clow Reed's apprentice. He was a powerful sorcerer, but over time, his heart became dark, and his thirst for power grew. He had hoped to inherit the CLOW CARDS, but Clow Reed would not have it. He knew that were Dijoso to get the cards, he would only use them for his own selfish purposes, so he sealed them away until Yue and Keroberos could select a suitable master. One who would care for the cards and use them for good. That was where you came in. when Dijoso had discovered what Clow had done, he vowed that he would one day obtain the cards and seek his revenge. It would seem that day has come. Dijoso must have been reincarnated and is now tying to steel the cards. You must be careful Sakura. If you use any of the cards, they will be instantly taken from you and transported to where ever Dijoso is and transformed into Dijoso cards, just as you transformed them into SAKURA CARDS."

The next day at school, Sakura told Syaoran and Tomoyo what Eriol had said about Dijoso. "Dijoso?" Syaoran repeated. "Yes," Sakura replied, "have you heard of him?" "Only a little. I'll call my mother tonight and see if she knows anything. In the mean time, you should listen Hiiragizawa and avoid using the cards." Just then, Seth walked up and handed Sakura another flower, as he had done all week. Syaoran reacted with another angry look. "Kinamoto," he began, a look of combined gentleness and determination on his face, "I was wondering, you've been so sad these past few days, I was hoping you might allow me to take you to the amusement park tomorrow." "Sure, I guess so," said Sakura. "Syaoran, Tomoyo, would you like to come too?" Both said yes, Syaoran more forcefully than Tomoyo. "Oh," said Seth, a little disappointed. "Well you're welcome to come, but I only have enough allowance for two tickets, so you'd have to buy own." Tomoyo smiled and said she would pay for herself and Syaoran. Syaoran looked as if he would laugh at Seth's failed attempt at being alone with Sakura.

The next day at the amusement park, things did not go as planed. Seth had already paid for his and Sakura's tickets, and the two of them stood in line with Syaoran and Tomoyo as the waited for their own. But when they had finally gotten up to the ticket booth, the lady running the booth said they had just sold out. "What do we do now?" Sakura asked. "I'd hate to waste the tickets Livi already bought, especially since he only invited us to try and cheer me up, but we said we would all go together." Syaoran let out a disappointed sight and said, "You go. A day of fun will be good for you." Syaoran looked as if he would hate himself later for saying this, but he knew it was the right thing to do. "Are you sure Syaoran?" Sakura asked, noticing the disappointment in his eyes. Syaoran smiled and replied "Yes. You go and have fun and we can meet up later." Seth led Sakura into the amusement park and smiled back at Syaoran and Tomoyo. "We'll see you later Li, Deidouji." he said gleefully.

Tomoyo also noticed Syaoran's disappointment. "It's for the best." Syaoran told her as they left the amusement park. "She's been so worried about the cards, this will take her mind off it off it for a while." Tomoyo smiled. "You really do care about her, don't you Li?" she said. Syaoran stopped. Something had caught his attention. "What is it Li?" Tomoyo asked. Just as she said this, a large mound of wood formed behind Syaoran and Tomoyo. As it got closer, more trees and large sticks where drawn in and it became as tall as a sky scraper. "Run!" Syaoran yelled as he and Tomoyo ran in the opposite direction. Syaoran got out his sword and a fire spell scroll. "God of fire, answer my call!" Syaoran said. A burst of flames emitted from the scroll as it touched his sword. The flames had a minimal effect. Tomoyo got out her cell phone. "I'm calling Sakura." she said in a slightly panicked voice. "No," said Syaoran, "I can handle this. If Sakura uses any of the cards they'll be taken from her like MIRROR." Syaoran got out another spell scroll, but before he could use it, he tripped and fell to the ground. "Li, are you alright?" Tomoyo asked. "Look out!" the wood monster stretched out a group of vines and twigs and grabbed Syaoran. Tomoyo got her cell phone back out. "Deidouji!" Syaoran called. "Do not call Sakura! I can handle this!" Tomoyo did not listen, and had already dialed Sakura's number.

Back at the amusement park, Sakura was having too much fun to even notice that her friends were in trouble. "Kinamoto, can I ask you something? Seth said. "Your first name is Sakura right? Well, you see, in America, we're used to using people's first name. It's kind of strange to me when people keep calling me Livi. I was wondering if you could just call me Seth from now on. And maybe I could call you Sakura?" Sakura nodded her head and said "If it would make you feel better, sure." Sakura's phone began to ring. Tomoyo told her what was going on. "Seth I'm sorry, but I have to go." she told him. Sakura ducked behind a building and used THE FLY card. Wings grew out of her back and she flew off to try and find her friends before it was too late.

Syaoran tried to cut himself free from the wood monster, but to no effect. "FIRY!" Sakura cried, activating THE FIRY card. Sakura's card had a much greater effect than Syaoran's scroll. Sakura flew in to rescue Syaoran and used THE SWORD card to cut him free. When they reached the ground, the three cards Sakura had used, FLY, FIRY, and SWORD, disappeared with the wood monster.

"Syaoran, are you alright?"

"Sakura! What were you thinking? You lost three cards."

"Are you mad?"

"No, I just..."

"I'm sorry, but…"

"It's alright Sakura."

"Why didn't you want to call me?"

"I didn't want you to lose any more cards."

"Syaoran, when I was changing the cards into SAKURA CARDS, you made me promise to tell you when there was trouble. Now it's your turn. Promise me you'll call me if you need my help."

"Alright, I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sakura walked through the front door of her house, followed by Syaoran and Tomoyo. "Dad, I'm home." Sakura called. Sakura's dad walked into the hallway from the kitchen wearing an apron. He had obviously been cooking. "Ah, welcome home Sakura." he greeted. "Hello Tomoyo, and, Syaoran was it? Or would you prefer Li?" "S-Syaoran's fine." Syaoran stuttered. He was obviously nervous because this was Sakura's father. Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo went into the living room and Fujitaka brought out tea and sweets before returning to his cooking. Then, the front door opened and shut and Toya and Yukito waked in. "I'm home." Toya called. He and Yukito entered the living room and Yukito greeted the children, but Toya did not say a word. He just stood in the archway and glared disdainfully at Syaoran. The two of them did not speak to each other all night.

After dinner, Sakura, Syaoran and Tomoyo joined Kero in Sakura's room with his share of dessert. Yukito met with them there a little later and transformed into Yue. "Do you really think it's Dijoso?" Yue asked. "That's what Eriol thinks." Sakura replied. "I spoke with my mother the other day and she seems to think so too." said Syaoran. Kero, after gulping down his pudding, got a serious look on his face and said "Dijoso is a very powerful sorcerer. If we are to defeat him, we must get stronger, and fast. And he will only keep getting stronger with each card he takes. Also, Sakura you have to be ready to do what ever it takes to stop him. Dijoso won't just stop when he has all the cards. You should be safe from him for now, but he won't show mercy once he has the cards. He knows that he can't touch you as long as you hold the cards, because without you, the seal on the cards will be broken, and then neither of you will be able to use them. But that wont matter to him once he has them all, and he won't care about anyone help who gets in his way either. It won't be like fighting Yue or Eriol. It'll be a fight to the finish." The whole room fell silent. Then, something seemed to surprise all in the room except Tomoyo. "Is something wrong?" she asked. "It's that same presence." said Sakura. "That's Dijoso's presence alright." said Yue. Kero nodded in acknowledgement.

The Cardcaptor group followed the presence all the way to the park. Syaoran was wearing his ceremonial robes, and Sakura wore one of Tomoyo's battle costumes. This one was a light blue dress with pink ribbons, and she also wore a pink ribbon in her hair like a headband. Sakura lead the group further into the park, Tomoyo bringing up the rear with her video camera. Suddenly, an eerie voice called out Sakura's name. Terrified, Sakura stopped and tightened her grip on the star wand. "Sakura…" the voice called out again. "Sakura, what's wrong?" Syaoran asked. Syaoran put his hand on her shoulder and Sakura let out a terrified scream. Syaoran quickly withdrew his hand. "S-Sakura, what is it?" he asked. "Hey, Sakura, what's got you so scared all of the sudden?" asked Kero. "D-didn't you hear it?" she stuttered. "A-a voice w-was calling my name. I… I think… I think it was a… a…" The voice called her name once more and Sakura screamed "A GHOST!!!" The others just stared at her. Yue, who had never heard of Sakura's fear of ghosts before said, "Nice work Keroberos. You picked a Cardcaptor who is afraid of ghosts." Sakura heard the voice again. _Alright Sakura,_ she thought to herself, _time to get tough. No ghost is gonna scare you away._ Determined to defeat her fears once and for all, Sakura ran in the direction she heard the voice coming from.

Sakura had run so fast that her friends could not keep up with her. Suddenly, Sakura was surrounded by a bight red light and fell into a trans-like state. When the others finally caught up to her, Sakura was floating in a red sphere of magical energy, and the SAKURA CARDS where spread around her in a circle. Syaoran ran up to try and save her, but when he touched the sphere a surge of energy flew through his body and knocked him back. "What is that thing?" Tomoyo asked. "It appears to be a magic barrier." said Kero. "It locks on to a specific magic frequency and traps anything that matches it inside. It also keeps anything that dose not match out." As Syaoran got up, he noticed something on the ground and picked it up. It was the star key.

Inside the barrier, Sakura opened her eyes, but all she could see were the cards floating around her. Everything else was black, empty. The same eerie voice Sakura had heard before spoke again.

"Welcome, Cardcaptor Sakura."

"Are you the ghost?"

"I AM NOT!!! I am Dijoso."

"Fwew, that's good. In that case, I'm not afraid of you!"

"…"

"Hey, are you listenin…"

"Quiet."

"You'd better give back the cards you took and apologize for what you've done or you'll be sorry!"

"…"

"Hey…"

"Did you know you're cute when you're angry?"

"Hoe?"

"I brought you here to make you an offer you'd be crazy to refuse. If you surrender and give me what I want, I can promise that I won't harm your friends. Make no mistake, I will get what I want, but if you resist, I can make no guarantee that no one will get hurt. The decision is your's"

"And just what is it you want anyway?"

"Not much really. I want the cards, but I have recently found a new goal as well."

Meanwhile, outside the barrier, Sakura's friends tried to think of a way to free her from Dijoso's spell. "I think I've got it!" said Kero. "We can't get through, but Tomoyo can." "But what can I do to help?" Tomoyo asked. "It's simple," Kero explained. "All you have to do is take the star key and pass it through to Sakura. She'll be able to et out if she uses one of her cards." Tomoyo did as Kero instructed and passed the star key to Sakura. Inside the barrier, Sakura saw the star key and grabbed it. Then she looked around at her cards and found the one titled THE SHEILD. "Key which hides the power of the stars, show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. RELEASE! SHEILD!" the magic barrier was broken and Sakura fell to the ground unconscious. When she woke up, she was in Syaoran's arms. "Sakura, are you alright?" he asked. Sakura nodded. Syaoran smiled and told her he was glad. "What happened in there?" Kero asked. Sakura told them what had happened. "… He said he was after the cards, and" she paused, not sure exactly what to think Dijoso's second desire. "And what?" Syaoran asked. Sakura remained silent, then finally, she spoke a word that none of them, especially Syaoran was ready to hear. "Me."


	4. Sakura's Elemental Crisis

Sakura sat and stared into space as Mr. Terada taught the day's lesson. She couldn't get the events of the previous night out of her head. She was supposed to be fighting Dijoso, protecting the cards from him, and he had just confessed his love to her. She knew she could never love Dijoso, and her feelings for Syaoran were true, but this new turn of events suddenly changed everything. None the less, she had to keep the cards from falling into his grasp. Dijoso was a truly evil person who would do anything and everything to get what he wanted, and he would show no mercy to those who stood in his way. But what could she do? She already lost 6 cards to that lunatic, and she could feel her powers decreasing with every card she lost.

After class, Sakura, Syaoran and Tomoyo stood outside the school gate discussing ways to get the SAKURA CARDS back from Dijoso.

"Can't Li use his compass board to find them?"

"No, it only works on CLOW CARDS. It might have worked if they were still SAKURA CARDS, but when they're transformed the seal binding them to Sakura is broken and the connection to them is lost."

"We have to figure out some way to get the cards back."

"Don't worry, you'll find it."

"Thanks Tomoyo."

"Still, first thing's first. We have to figure out a way to keep you from losing anymore cards."

"I can't just not use them. If I don't fight back, Dijoso will just go around hurting everyone around me, and I_ refuse_ to just let that happen." Unknown to Sakura and her friends, a dark figure was lurking behind the corner of the school. When he was certain no one could see him, he released a magical aura, which Sakura and Syaoran recognized easily. Dijoso then released a powerful wind that engulfed Sakura, causing her cards to fly around her. Syaoran got out his sword and a wind oufada scroll.

"Fuuka Shorai!" Syaoran's spell cancelled out Dijoso's and the cards feel to the ground. "Quick, grab the cards before they all dissapear!" Sakura, Syaoran and Tomoyo raced around franticaly picking up all the cards they could. Just as Sakura reached out for BUBBLE, however, it disapeared along with all the other cards still on the ground.

"Darn it."

"I didn't even have a chance to do anything."

"On the bright side, Li's quick thinking mannaged to save most of the cards."

"That's true. Thank you Syaoran."

"Don't thank me yet. First let's see what cards were taken and what ones you still have."

Sakura looked through her cards, then went over the missing cards in her head. "Aside from EARTHY, MIRROR, FLY, SWORD, FIERY and SHEILD, I'm not missing BUBBLE, FREEZE, CHANGE, SHADOW, CLOUD, SILENT, SWEET, MOVE, ERASE, and LOOP."

"That's ten cards."

"In two minutes I lost twice as manny cards as I did all last week!"

Syaoran walked up to Sakura and placed his hand on her shoulder. Her eyes filled with tears, Sakura looked up and meet his gentle gaze. "Don't worry. We _will_ get those cards back. I promise I'll find a way, but crying won't help anything. You know that." Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes. Syaoran was right, she had to focus on finding Dijoso and getting the cards back, and sitting around crying about would get her nowhere.

Still hidden, Dijoso watched the scene before him with disgust. "That Syaoran Li is becoming a problem. Not only is he getting in between me and the SAKURA CARDS, but as long as he is around, Sakura's heart will never be mine." Dijoso watched as the tree of them said their good byes. Syaoran and Tomoyo both offered to escort her home, but she insisted she was fine on her own. The tree of them said good night, and Dijoso continued to watch Syaoran as he walked home. "Pleasent dreams, wolf boy."

Running late as usual, Sakura opened the classroom door with gusto and greeted her classmates. Sakura took her seat next to Tomoyo and cought her breath.

"Good morning Sakura."

"Morning Tomoyo. Morning Syao..." Sakura turned around to greet Syaoran, who was suprisingly not there. "Hoe? Where's Syaoran?"

"I'm afraid he isn't here yet. I havn't seen Li all morning."

"If he dosn't get here soon, he's going to be late."

"What, no 'good morning' for me?" Sakura turned around and realized she had forgotten to greet Seth.

"M-morning Seth." Before Sakura could apoligize for forgetting him, Mr, Terrada walked into the room and anounced he was starting class.

By the end of the day, Sakura couldn't remember a thing she had learned in class. Syaoran never showed up to school, and Sakura was getting worried. Even during Cheerleading practice, Sakura couldn't bring herself to pay attention to what she was doing and accidentaly sent the whole pyramid crashing to the ground.

The chior wasn't practicing that day, so Tomoyo waited for Sakura by the steps, filming her unsuccesful practice. Sakura slumped over to the steps and sat down next to Tomoyo, who had just gotten off the phone.

"Hoe, that could have gone better."

"I just spke with Kero. He hasn't scenced anything, but he's comming to meet with us just in case."

"I'm really worried about Syaoran. He never came to school today, I hope nothing happened."

" We can stop by after school and check on him if you want to."

"Sure, that'd be..." Sakura was interupted by the one prescsence she least wanted to sence. She grabbed Tomoyo's hand and draged her to an issolated part of the school. Kero joined them as soon as they were out of sight. Tomoyo knew the looks on their faces all to well.

"Is it Dijoso again?"

"Yea, now I'm really starting to worry." Sakura got out her key, partially hoping she wouldn't have to use it. "Key which hides the power of the stars, show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. RELEASE!" With her staff in hand, Sakura began searching for Dijoso's presence. Sakura's efforts were answered with another gust of wind engulfing her in a small funnel. Once again, the SAKURA CARDS flew out of her pocket and swirled around her. Kero tried to transform and help her, but just before he could, more mini tornadoes trapped him and Tomoyo as well. Franticly, Sakura searched for the card she needed. When she found it, she quietly apologized to the card before jamming her staff into it. "WINDY!" Just as Syaoran had done the day before, WINDY's winds canceled out Dijoso's attack. Before disappearing, WINDY made sure her friends made it safely back to Sakura. Unfortunately, despite WINDY's efforts, Sakura could tell just by looking at her cards that there were now even more of them missing.

Kero and Tomoyo ran up to Sakura to make sure she was OK. "Sakura, what about LIGHT and DARK? Are they still here?"

"Hoe?"

"Why those two specifically?"

"Just look."

Still unsure as to Kero's motives, Sakura searched through her remaining cards and pulled out LIGHT and DARK. "Kero, why are you so concerned abou…"

"Now look for WATERY."

"But why are you singling out those three cards? Shouldn't we be more concerned with…"

"Because you've already used three of your elements." There was something in Kero's voice that told Sakura Kero wasn't angry or upset, but rather, he sounded fearful. "I've told you before, that LIGHT and DARK were the first cards under mine and Yue's jurisdiction. IN a way, it's partially because these were the first cards Clow Reed made, and partially because they hold the most power out of all the cards. That's shy you had such a hard time transforming them. Eriol went all out, Yue and I had to be absorbed into our staff, even the kid had to lend you his power, and you still barely managed to transform them. That's because of how powerful those cards truly are."

"I had no idea LIGHT and DARK were so strong. But what about the element cards?"

"The elements are right underneath LIGHT and DARK. FIERY and EARTHY under LIGHT, and WINDY and WATERY under DARK. The rest of the cards fall underneath the elements depending on the type of magic they use. These six cards are the main basis of the SAKURA CARDS, so the rest of the cards follow them… and…" Sakura could now plainly hear the fear in Kero's voice. It wasn't just in his voice now either, it was also in his eyes. "… and the person who holds them… be they master… or not."

Tomoyo lowered her video camera as she put the pieces together in her head. "It makes sense now. When we were in the park, Sakura was forced to use EARTHY. Then when it was that wood monster, Sakura had to use FIERY. And now, this wind. Because Li was able to use his magic to save Sakura, she didn't have the chance to use WINDY. But Li wasn't here today, so Sakura had no choice but to use WINDY."

Sakura took a moment to let her friend's words sink in. _Could that really be it? Dijoso's plan is to capture the 6 main cards, and once he has them, it won't matter what I do, the cards will follow him no matter what. That void he trapped me in, he wasn't trying to get the cards then. He was giving me a warning, it was way to easy for me to escape. And the bear, clearly he was after Syaoran at the time. Wait a minute! Could Dijoso be behind Syaoran's absence today too? But how…_

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted when a ringing sound started going off in her backpack. She took it off and unzipped the side pocket and pulled out the little pink cell phone Tomoyo had given her in fifth grade. Sakura looked at the caller ID before answering it, and a mixture or relief and confusion flowed through her as she recognized to be Syaoran's number. "Hello, Syaoran? You can't imagine how relieved I am to hear from you. When you weren't in school today, I thought…"

But the voice that answered her wasn't Syaoran's. It was older, and filled with worry. "Lady Sakura…"


	5. Sakura, Syaoran, and the Dream Fairy

Sakura, Tomoyo and Kero stood outside Syaoran's house. Tomoyo, already filming, took a few steps back to admire her latest creation. Sakura was wearing a pink sailor uniform similar to some high school uniforms. The costume was completed with matching pink gloves that came up to Sakura's elbows, white boots with a single pink stripe at the top accented by a single crescent moon, a gold tiara that pointed down and was adorned with a single emerald gem, and her pigtails were held together by winged pony-tail holders. Kero also wore a crescent moon on his forehead.  
"Why dose it always seem to come to this?"  
"You're the one who said this was most likely Dijoso's doing, so naturally you have to be dressed for the occasion."  
"But why a pink sailor?"  
"There's a popular new video game out that's sweeping Tokyo by storm. It stars a beautiful heroin in a sailor costume who fights evil. I just had to try it out, and the pink and wings make you look cute."  
"Hoe…" Sakura gave up without much difficulty. There was no point in arguing with Tomoyo, their nearly five years together had taught her at least that much. Besides, she couldn't afford to waist any time. They were there at Syaoran's house because his caretaker, Wei, had called her earlier that day. Apparently something had happened, and she suspected that Dijoso was behind it. Wei hadn't said exactly what was wrong, but she could tell by the sound of his voice that it was something really bad.  
Sakura walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Wei answered the door, and was slightly taken back by Sakura's outfit. _This must be one of Lady Deidouji's battle costumes I've heard so much about_. "Lady Sakura, Lady Deidouji, Master Keroberos, please, come in. Thank you so much for coming."  
"What happened? Where's Syaoran?"  
Wei's expression deepened as he led Kero and the girls into a room on the first floor. "I think you should see for yourself." Kero recognized the room to be similar to Syaoran's old room from his old apartment. It was rather tidy and well kept, all except the piles of magic and history books laid out on the table. Sakura, however, paid no mind to the books or the otherwise neat and tidy room, and was more focused on the bed, where Syaoran lay unconscious. "At first I thought he had simply worn himself out yesterday, I could tell you ran into some trouble, so I let him rest for the day. But even afterwards, he still wouldn't wake up. His breathing is fine, pulse normal, and he doesn't seem to be running a fever. For the life of me, I've never seen anything like this."  
"This has to be Dijoso, I'm sure of it. Who else could have, or would have done this?"  
"But if it is a spell, how can it keep him from waking up?" The girls turned to Kero, who seemed to be just as mystified. Then, a thought came to mind.  
"I suppose it's possible… Sakura, do you still have the DREAM card?"  
"DREAM?" Sakura looked through her cards, not that there were many left to look trough, and pulled out the card in question. As soon as she pulled it out, Sakura felt a strong presence coming from the card, almost as if it was trying to tell her something.  
"Just as I thought. You felt that just now right? DREAM is a card with a very strong connection to the Dream World. She can access the part of the Dream World to tell the future, and she knows when something's wrong there. DREAM seems to be upset about something, and I'll be I know. Dijoso must have trapped the kid in the Dream World."  
"But he's right here in front of us."  
"Physically, yes, but it's his subconscious that's trapped. Human beings can't physically enter the Dream World, the journey has to be made in spirit. It's basically the same as being in a comma. Somehow, Dijoso must have trapped the kid inside his dreams."  
"So how do I get him out?"  
"That's easy, I just told you. DREAM's connection to the Dream World is incredibly strong. By using it, you can go into the kid's dream and get him out yourself."  
"But, if I do that, then DREAM…"  
"That's right, she'll end up like all the others."  
"But even so, if I don't do anything, Syaoran won't ever wake up, and I need him. I can't do this by myself." Sakura looked down at DREAM, who gave out another burst of magic power. Sakura knew what DREAM was trying to tell her. She thought back for a moment to when she first captured DREAM. DREAM was showing her a foretelling dream about the final judgment. DREAM had spoken to her then through a dream version of herself, and then it had been Syaoran who woke her up with the TIME card. He used up all his magic, but he didn't once complain. Now it was her turn to return the favor. She thought about the words the Dream Sakura had spoken to her that day as she pulled her star key out. "It's alright. I will defiantly be alright. Key which hides the power of the stars, show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. RELEASE! DREAM!"  
Upon activation of the card, Sakura fell unconscious. Tomoyo caught her and laid her down on the floor._ Sakura, please be careful._

When Sakura opened her eyes, she found that she was no longer in Syaoran's room, but instead she lay in the middle of a street in what seemed to be a rather large city. Sakura couldn't recognize anything around her, she was sure it wasn't Tomoeda, and it couldn't be Tokyo because Tokyo Tower was nowhere to be found, but even so it gave off a sort of nostalgic feeling, as if she'd been there before. Of course, it was possible that it was because she was in the Dream World. This may be her first time there consciously, or at least it was her first time _knowing_ what it was, but this was a place for dreamers to spend there nights imagining anything they wanted to, as Sakura had far too much experience with.  
Sakura began walking around to try and find some clues. She wasn't there to sight see, or to contemplate the laws of the Dream World, she was there to find Syaoran. DREAM gave herself up to Dijoso to get her there, and Sakura refused to let her sacrifice be in vein. But where was she to begin? She was all alone in this strange world. No Kero, no Yue, no Syaoran, even Tomoyo's constant rantings about how cute she looked in her costume would be welcome company right about now. But she couldn't think about that now. She had a mission to complete.

Sakura walked around for what seemed like an hour, with still no sign of Syaoran, or anyone else for that matter. Then, finally, she saw something moving in a dark alleyway. Sakura ran after it as fast as she could. She didn't know what it was that she had seen, but it was the only lead she had, and she wasn't going to lose it now. Still no sign of what she saw, Sakura kept going until she reached the other end of the alley. She came out on a different street and looked around. Nothing but buildings, and a few trees that decorated the sidewalks. Sakura thought for a moment that she head something behind her, but when she turned around, nothing was there. Sakura stood there trying to figure something out. As she thought, she noticed a shadow cast over her, but when she turned around, there was still nothing there. Then, she felt something on her shoulder. Sakura's face turned pale as she noticed a claw on her shoulder, then freaked out when she saw what the claw was attached to. As tall as the trees that decorated the walkways was a black gargoyle-looking creature, with wings that seemed to take up the width of the alleyway behind it. Sakura screamed and ran down the street. The gargoyle spread it's wings out and let out a terrifying roar before taking off to chase Sakura. Sakura kept running as hard as she could. She didn't dare try to use her cards. She didn't even know if she could use magic in this world, or if she even had any useful attack cards left that could handle this giant creature. As Sakura ran, she noticed the sound of a flute. Sakura couldn't tell where the sound was coming from, nor could she imagine who would be playing a flute at a time like this, but soon she could no longer hear the sound of the creatures wings, and it's shadow seemed to disappear as well. Sakura slowed down and turned around to find that the large creature that had been chasing her a minute ago was no where to be found.

Suddenly, the flute playing got louder and more clear, and Sakura noticed a boy around her age with purple hair with a streak of pink in the front, fairy wings, and a strange outfit(not that she had much room to talk). The boy floated down from what seemed like nowhere and continued to play the flute peacefully. When he landed on the street, he finished his song and gave Sakura a closed-eyed smile. "That was pretty close, wasn't it Rini?"  
"Hoe? Rini?"  
The boy opened his eyes at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. The girl he had thought to be Rini was far too old, and her hair and eyes did not match. Still, she wore the Sailor Scout uniform, an exact replica, in fact, of Sailor Mini Moon. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else." Then, something else dawned on the boy. "Wait, if your not Rini, how is it you can see me?"  
"What do you mean? Your right there."  
"It's just that, normally, dreamers can't see me." _If she's not Rini, or a Sailor Scout, I'm going to be in trouble if she figures out who I am. I need to get out of here, and fast._ The boy started flying again and waved to Sakura. "Well, it was nice meeting you, but I've got to…" but before he could finish, he felt something grab hold of his hand that kept him from flying off.  
"Hold on a second, while I appreciate you getting rid of that thing, how o I know your not working for Dijoso?"  
The boy struggled to break from Sakura's grip, but the accusing tone in her voice struck his curiosity. "Who?"  
"While it's just like Dijoso to send that thing here to keep me from finding Syaoran, I'm sure he had to think about how like _me_ it is to believe in a kind face that just saved me. How do I know your not trying to trick me into thinking I can trust you, just so you can stop me from saving Syaoran?"  
The boy found himself at a loss for words. Dijoso? Syaoran? What kind of dream was this girl having? Remembering that this was a dream, he decided to play along. The fact that she could see him didn't mean that she would remember any of this when she woke up, nor that she would believe it even if she could remember. "Look, I don't know who these Dijoso or Syaoran people are, but I can tell you I'm not your enemy. My name is Peruru, and I'm a Dream Fairy."  
"Dream Fairy?"  
"Yes, you see, a Dram Fairy is a fairy who travels through and watches over the Dream World. I go around from dream to dream, sometimes easing nightmares, sometimes just making them more fun, or maybe I'll just sit and watch if everything seems fine. I promise, I'm not here to try and do anything bad." Peruru felt Sakura's grip on his hand let up, and he tried once more to fly away.  
"Wait, Peruru. I'm sorry for suspecting you, but I've had a lot going on. My name is Sakura Kinomoto, and I'm looking for someone who has been trapped here in the Dream World. Dijoso cast a spell on him, and now he can't wake up unless I can somehow find him here. And, you see… one of my… really good friends allowed herself to be captured in order to give me a chance to save him. But I haven't got the slightest clue where he is, or how I can find him, or even how we can escape back to the Real World once I have. You say that you watch over the Dream World, so… Please, Peruru I beg of you, help me to save him. Please help me save Syaoran."  
Peruru was left speechless. This was no ordinary dreamer, that much was certain. No twelve year old girl would be able to imagine all of that in one night. She was there for real, and she was clearly set on accomplishing her mission. The other thing that was clear was that she was desperate. The look in her eyes when she begged him for help, despite the fact that she had suspected him her enemy, and still had no proof that he hadn't made the whole Dream Fairy thing up. He knew what he had to do. He had to help her, and Rini would never forgive him if he turned this girl away. Peruru floated back down and landed in front of Sakura. "Alright, I'll help you."  
"Really?" Sakura smiled brightly and gave Peruru a big hug. "Oh thank you Peruru, thank you."

With Peruru now joining her, Sakura continued her search for Syaoran in the strange, but still familiar city. They were both fairly clueless as to how they were going to find him, but Peruru didn't even know _who_ they were looking for. "Uh, Miss Dreamer Kinomoto…"  
"Oh, you can call me Sakura if you want."  
"Dreamer Sakura, who did you say we were looking for again?"  
"Oh, I suppose you wouldn't know who Syaoran is, would you? Syaoran Li, he's got brown hair, just a little bit shorter than yours, but not as wavy, and he has the most gentle, amber brown eyes that light up when he smiles, he's our age…"  
"Uh, actually, I'm a lot older than I seam. Dream Fairies don't age as fast as humans."  
"Oh, I see."  
"But, that's not really important continue" Peruru thought about pointing out that Sakura was giving him a little too much detail, but he decided against it. She appeared to be in a panicked state earlier, and talking about this Syaoran person seamed to calm her down.  
Sakura, not even realizing she was rambling, continued to tell Peruru about Syaoran. "You see, Syaoran is… well, he's someone very important to me. He's been helping to fight Dijoso… uh, well no, not just Dijoso. Syaoran's been helping for a long time now. At first, I suppose you could have called us rivals. You see, we were searching for these cards that a very powerful sorcerer created. Somewhere along the way we became friends though. And, he continued to stay by my side, even after he failed the Final Judgment and I was named the master and true Cardcaptor. There were some other things… that happened afterwards… uh, anyway, after a while we started to grow even closer… and…" Sakura stopped to notice her cheeks burning. She had just told a complete stranger about everything that had happened between her and Syaoran, and… she almost told him…  
"You must really like him, huh?"  
The redness in Sakura's cheeks suddenly spread to the rest of her face. Sakura nodded her head, paused for a second, then continued. "I was so happy when I finally realized it. Syaoran told me his feelings just before that though. When I realized how I felt, I somehow wound up making this card. Kero says it was because my feelings for Syaoran were so strong, that it got brought out through my magic. Shortly afterwards, Syaoran had to go back home to Hong Kong, but then he…" Sakura stopped both talking and walking. This place just seamed so familure. She was sure she had been there before. No, she knew. Sakura ran ahead, and after taking several turns, came across a street cluttered with bird cages. Some were empty, but others had various birds in them of all breeds, sizes, and colors.  
"Bird Street."  
"What?"  
"This is Bird Street! I know where we are, and I think I know where Syaoran is!" Sakura ran ahead again, Peruru having to fly in order to keep up with her. "Why didn't I realize it before? We're in Hong Kong, This is where Syaoran grew up. I came here once on vacation with my big brother and some friends. We ran into Syaoran here as he was visiting his family, and we got to meet them and see where he lived. That's gotta be where he is now. But, how is it even possible that we're in Hong Kong?"  
"You said this is your friend's dream, right? Well, dreams are a link o a human's subconscious. The setting is probably based around your friend's memory, and so this would be what would come up. Although, I am a bit surprised it's not the place he lives in now, that would be the freshest in his mind."  
"That part was probably Dijoso's doing. I'm sure he knew I'd be coming, so he made sure we weren't in Tomoeda. I know my way around there and it would be easy for me to find Syaoran. But what Dijoso doesn't know is that I've been to Hong Kong too, and I know my way around."

Sakura and Peruru came up to a train station. Sakura remembered taking the train to Syaoran's after she fell in a well and he let her change there, where she got swarmed by his sisters. Sakura and Peruru found the train that Sakura remembered taking them to Syaoran's before, but there were no people around. No passengers, no engineer, no driver, and clearly, no train ride. "Great, how are we supposed to get there? I only remember taking the train to Syaoran's, I don't know how else we can get there. I suppose we could just walk along the tracks, but that would take so long, I don't know if we could make it that far."  
"We could just fly there you know."  
"But I don't have the FLY card anymore, and I don't even know if I _can_ use magic here."  
"But this is the Dream World. You can do anything you want here Dreamer Sakura."  
"Really?" Sakura held out her hands in front of her. She closed her eyes, and thought hard about the FLY card. She could imagine it in her mind, the card, it's unique presence, and the feeling she had whenever she used it. One particular memory came to mind. The FLY card had been the first card she had ever captured. The first time she used it had felt like a dream, the way she rode on her staff high above the city of Tomoeda, the lights sparkling in the night. It was such a good feeling. Sakura opened her eyes to find that her once empty hands were now holding a single card. Sakura turned it over to find that it was, in fact, the FLY card. "I-it's FLY! I don't believe it, it worked!"  
Peruru stared at Sakura with confusion. "Uh, a card? How is that supposed to help?"  
Sakura gave Peruru a confident grin and pulled out her star key. "Just watch. Key which hides the power of the stars, show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. RELEASE! FLY!" Peruru watched in amazement as beautiful white wings grew from Sakura's back. He couldn't figure out why it seamed so impressive, he'd seen it a million times in other dreams, but Sakura just seamed to make it a unique experience. Peruru then suspected that it was because she could do this in the Real World as well.  
Sakura flew into the air with newfound energy. It felt so good to fly again, and she missed her friend considerably. "I almost forgot what it felt like."  
"So, Dreamer Sakura, you can do this in the Real World as well?"  
"Yea, as long as I have the FLY card. … Um, Peruru, do you mind if I ask you a question?"  
"Sure, what?"  
"I was wondering, why do you keep calling me Dreamer Sakura?  
"Huh? You told me I could call you by your name."  
"I know, but why do you keep calling me _Dreamer_ Sakura?"  
"Oh, I guess it's just that you're the first person I met inside the Dream World who wasn't a Dream Fairy. And, well, I suppose while this dream technically isn't yours, I still feel the need to call you that. I'm sorry, I didn't realize it would bother you."  
"No, I don't mind, you can call me that if you want to."

Sakura and Peruru followed the train tracks to where Sakura remembered the stop to be. It didn't take them long to find Syaoran's house. When they landed though, something about it seamed smaller then the last time Sakura had been there. It didn't appear to be much bigger than the houses in Tomoeda, which Sakura knew had to be a mistake. "Hoe?"  
"Is something wrong?"  
"Uh, oh, now, it's nothing." _I'm sure it's just me, or maybe it's because I'm getting closer to Syaoran, and everything's getting messed up._ Sakura walked up to the front door, Peruru following closely behind, and opened the door. When Sakura saw the inside, she realized the size of the place wasn't the only thing that was different. "Hoe, it's pitch black in here. But, this must mean we're on the right track. Kero once told me that sometimes spells are more vulnerable to be broken the closer you get to the source of power."  
As Peruru tried to make sense of what Sakura had just said, the two of them continued forward into the dark abyss. When the door closed behind them, they found that it was impossible to see anything, and Peruru bumped into Sakura. "I can't see anything, can you?"  
"No."  
"Do you have a card for this?"  
"A-a card? I… I guess I do… but…"  
"But, what? Is something wrong?"  
"It's just that… I know this is the Dream World, and I can make anything happen here, but you see, back in the Real World, Dijoso is trying to steal all of my cards. He has this spell, and every time I use a card against him, he takes them. That's why I didn't have FLY when I entered the dream, he had already taken it. Kero says that if Dijoso gets LIGHT, DARK, and the four element cards, he'll be able to take the rest of my cards without a fight. I don't know if I'll be able to use the cards here safely or not."  
"I'll admit, I don't know that much about magic, but I'm sure it'd be no problem. All you'd have to do is will the card to resist the spell. It's your will that controls the Dream World."  
Sakura thought long and hard. If she used the LIGHT, it would make it a lot easier to see, and it would help them find Syaoran that much quicker… but if things went wrong… "No. I can't doubt myself. LIGHT and DARK once told me, that it's _me_ they want for their master. They believe in me, and so do the rest of the cards, and I promise not to let them down. We'll be alright. It will defiantly be alright." Sakura threw the LIGHT card in the air in front of her, and used her senses' to keep track of it. "Illuminate this space with your light, and rid this place of the dark magic consuming it. LIGHT!" Sakura touched her staff to the card, and a bright light filled the corridor. Sakura could se that merely two feet in front of her, the corridor they now stood in dropped into a large room. The floor was several yards away from the edge, and looked large enough to fit a gymnasium. As LIGHT finished filling the room with light, she floated back down to Sakura's open hands. Just before Sakura could grab the card, it instead flew to the bottom of the room. Sakura used FLY and she and Peruru flew down after it. They followed LIGHT to a crystal formation in the center of the room. LIGHT landed in front of the crystal, and before Sakura bent down to pick it up, she saw what LIGHT was trying to show her. Sakura's eyes widened in horror as she saw Syaoran, trapped inside the blue crystal.  
"SYAORAN! Syaoran, wake up! Peruru, what is this, do you know?"  
"No, I don't but, Dreamer Sakura…" Peruru placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder to try and calm her. "Please, calm down. He's fine, in a matter of speaking. If anything were to happen to him, the dream we're in would collapse. So please, calm down. You can't help him like that."  
Sakura took a deep breath. "Your right, I have to calm down and think of a solution." _Just calm down and think. There as to be a way to break this spell. I suppose I could use FIERY to try and melt the crystal. No, I would burn Syaoran to, and I don't know what kind of effects that would have in the Real World. There has to be some way… without hurting Syaoran… I suppose it's possible to use the laws of the Dream World to break this crystal without hurting him, but I don't know if… Wait! That's it!_ Sakura held out her hand and another SAKURA CARD materialized in her hand. "The SWORD card draws upon it's master's will and cuts only what I want it to cut. If I use this, I can cut through the crystal without hurting Syaoran."  
Before Sakura could use the card, the sound of clapping came from nowhere, followed by a loud and unpleasantly familiar voice. "Congratulations Sakura. I have to say, I didn't expect you to get this far. What I find even more unexpected, is that you would willingly give up your cards just to save a weakling like him."  
"Syaoran's not weak! You caught him off guard and attacked him in his sleep! What's with all of these indirect attacks anyway? Are you too much of a coward to fight us face to face? You know you can't beat us, so you wait until we're alone and hope you can get lucky. You're the one who's weak Dijoso!"  
No, not weak, just smart. I could finish you off in an instant if I wanted to, you and your little wolf. But as I've told you, I'm after more than just the cards that back stabber Clow created, and that Li brat stands in my way."  
"It doesn't matter what you do to Syaoran. You can take him away from me, you can take away my cards, you can beat me down within an inch of my life, but I will never, ever give in to you! Do you hear me? NEVER!"  
"Well, we'll just have to push those limits then won't we?"  
"I don't understand why you're doing this. I know you were hurt by Clow, but that doesn't give you the right to take it out on other people."  
"No, I suppose you wouldn't understand. You who have never known hurt, never known pain. To live your live with your friend… your family… blissfully unaware of the true hardships of this world, and it's horrors."  
"You want to talk to me about pain and horror?" Sakura gritted her teeth and clenched her hands around her card and staff as a vivid image of orange glowing eyes flashed through her mind. "You're the one who has no idea." Sakura shook her head. That was the past. It was over.  
Sakura's reaction caught both Peruru and Dijoso by surprise. Taking opportunity of the momentary pause, Sakura got ready to activate the SWORD card. Dijoso snapped back to reality as well and unleashed a strong wave of magical energy, causing the ground beneath them to rumble, and Sakura's concentration to be broken. Out from the darkness, the same dark creature that had attacked Sakura earlier materialized right behind them, only this time, it was twice as big. The creature rose it's claw and slashed at Sakura and Peruru. Peruru dove after Sakura and the two of them skidded across the floor, barely missing the giant claw.  
"Dreamer Sakura, I think I figured out what that thing is. It's a Nightmare Gargoyle, they create nightmares and then feed of the dreamers fear." The Nightmare Gargoyle charged at the two, who dogged by taking to the air.  
"So, it's the cause of all of this?"  
"Not on it's own. Nightmare Gargoyles can only create nightmares. I've never heard of one trapping someone inside. That much would be your enemy." The nightmare Gargoyle took flight and chased after Sakura and Peruru.  
"Yea, that sounds like the sort of thing he'd do. So how do we get rid of it?"  
Peruru looked at Sakura and grinned. "Just watch." Peruru got out his flute and played a tune. It was different from the one he had used before, and it had a different effect. With this tune, what looked like little pieces of candy wrapped in pink, blue, green and purple sprang fourth and turned into little round gumball shaped people. The Bon Bon Babies swarmed around the Nightmare Gargoyle and covered it. Then the ball of Bon Bon Babies began to shrink, squeezing the Nightmare Gargoyle back into the nothingness. But just before they succeeded, the Nightmare Gargoyle let out a vicious roar and the Bon Bon Babies went flying all over the room before disappearing. Peruru was baffled by the should-be impossible feat. "Wait, that should have worked."  
Dijoso laughed at the Dream Fairy's failed attempt. "You may be a Dream Fairy sworn to protect the Dream World, but I am a powerful sorcerer. You won't be able to defeat me with your pathetic little gum balls. Haven't you figured it out yet? You don't control this world, I do."  
Something about what Dijoso said sparked something inside Sakura. She lowered herself down gently and calmly. "No Dijoso, you don't control this world. You have as little control here as we do. I realize that now. The things that have happened up till now, the cards returning to me as I need them. That was never my doing, and none of it was yours either." Sakura landed next to the crystal formation that held Syaoran prisoner and let her wings disappear. Then, she smiled. "It was Syaoran. Syaoran wanted me to have my cards back, and he wanted me to find him. He knew I was scared being here in this place by myself, and somehow was able to call Peruru here. Syaoran wanted me to be in a place where I wouldn't feel lost, or confused. So when you took us from Tomoeda, he brought us to Hong Kong because he knew I would feel safe and be able to find him. And right now…" Sakura paused for a moment as the Nightmare Gargoyle attempted to attack her. She only stood still, and as the Nightmare Gargoyle tried to touch her, it's body froze in place. "… Syaoran doesn't want me getting hurt." Sakura activated the SWORD card and her pink staff transformed into the long sword she was accustomed to.  
Dijoso unleashed a new wave of power in an attempt to stop her, but it was no use. Sakura slashed the sword and split the crystal in half. The two halves shattered and disappeared, and Syaoran fell to the ground. Now that he was free and fully conscious, Sakura helped him up and he gave her a reassuring look that told her he was alright. "I knew you could do it."  
Sakura gave Syaoran a big hug. "Thank you."  
"For what? You did all the work."  
"No, I couldn't have done it without you. You believed in me the whole time, and that was what helped to break the spell."  
Having seen enough of the love fest, Dijoso sent out one last wave of power before leaving the Dream World. The Nightmare Gargoyle regained it's movement and continued it's rampage, this time going after Sakura and Syaoran. Syaoran grabbed Sakura close and pulled her out of the way with a high jump.  
"What's going on, why is that thing still moving?"  
"It's gotta be Dijoso's spell. He's made it too powerful, I can't control it."  
Before Sakura could call upon a card, she realized her wings were somehow back already, and she was still in the air. "Hoe? Where did these wings come from I didn't…" Sakura glared over at Syaoran. "I could have done that myself you know." Before he could reply, Sakura noticed Syaoran also had grown wings. They were different from hers though, and they reminded her of a creature called an Albatross she had seen in one of Naoko's fantasy books. "How do you have wings?"  
"It's my dream."  
Peruru flew over to Sakura and Syaoran "I think I have a plan on how we can defeat the Nightmare Gargoyle, but it's going to take all three of us to do it. I'm going to attack it again with the Bon Bon Babies, Dreamer Syaoran, if you can weaken it, Dreamer Sakura should be able to destroy it with one of her cards."  
Sakura and Syaoran nodded in unison, and the three of them got into position. Syaoran concentrated as hard as he could on making the Nightmare Gargoyle vulnerable to attack. Peruru started playing is flute and the Bon Bon Babies appeared once more to fend off the nightmare inducing beast. While the boys did their tasks, Sakura thought about which card she could use. It had to be something powerful, something strong enough to defeat a Nightmare Gargoyle. Nightmare… the very thought made Sakura cringe.  
A chill went up Sakura's right arm, and as she gazed at her hand, she saw a scythe had replace the staff that was there moments ago. Sakura's eyes widened in horror. Even Syaoran had sensed it's presence, and they gave each other the same terrified look. Neither of them cad called it, yet there it was. Sakura held the scythe up, contemplating weather or not she should use it. Then, she shook her head. _No, I won't live in the past. That's over, I've moved on._  
Sakura called her staff back to replace the scythe. Sakura drew out the THUNDER card. "It's time to end this nightmare! THUNDER!" Several bolts of lightning shot out from the card at the Nightmare Gargoyle. In a flash of bright light, the Gargoyle disappeared, and soon the room they were in followed.  
"Hoe? What happened to the room?"  
"Without your enemy there, the Nightmare Gargoyle was the only thing keeping you both in this world. Now that it's gone, Dreamer Syaoran can wake up."  
"What a relief. Thank you Peruru, for all you've done."  
"It was my pleasure. I wish you luck against your enemy, it looks like your going to need it.. Be careful you two, and take care of one another."  
"We will. Maybe we'll see each other again one day."

Back in Syaoran's room, Sakura lay on a little green sleeping back next to Syaoran's bed. Sakura opened her eyes and sat up to be greeted by her friends. At the same time, Syaoran woke up and pulled his covers off.  
Tomoyo grabbed Sakura and pulled her in for a big hug. "Sakura, Li, I so glad you're both alright!"  
"Tomoyo… can't… breath…" Tomoyo let go of Sakura as she caught her breath.  
"Master Syaoran, are you alright?"  
"Yea." Syaoran looked down at Sakura with a solemn look in his eyes. Sakura returned the stare, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "Sakura, about… what happened back there."  
Sakura shook her head and gave Syaoran a reassuring smile. "You don't have to worry about it. It's alright." Syaoran was able to relax with Sakura's reply.  
Tomoyo and Kero looked at each other questioningly. However, as much as they hated being out of the loop, they decided to let it go. They had more important things to discuss. "As great as it is that you two are safe, there's something we need to talk about. Sakura, you used LIGHT when you were in the Dream World, didn't you."  
"Hoe? Why?"  
"What do you mean 'why'! I told you, if Dijoso gets a hold on LIGHT, DAR…"  
Sakura and Syaoran interrupted Kero's rant in unison. "YOU MEAN IT'S GONE!"  
"What made you think it wouldn't be?"  
"But I thought we had control over it. How could Dijoso still manage to take my cards inside the Dream World?"  
Syaoran punched his fist into his hand "D-darn it. It's my fault, I should have tried harder to keep his magic from getting to the card."  
"No, don't blame yourself, you did the best you could."  
Unsure about what they were talking about Kero decided to ignore it. "But still, LIGHT won't be the only one affected by it. LIGHT and DARK are naturally drawn to each other. It'll be difficult for DARK to resist Dijoso. You'd better keep a tight hold on WATERY, he's the best shot you've got left at stopping Dijoso."  
Sakura pulled the top part of the sleeping bag off and stood up. When she did, she noticed something fell out of her lap. It was a pice of paper folded over something else. On top, was a note.

_I don't know how much good it will do you, but I found this floating around. I think it belongs to you. P.S. We will meet again. Even if you don't see me, I will always be watching over your dreams._

Sakura opened the paper and found a card inside. Recognizing the star pattern on the back, she flipped it over to reveal a young woman surrounded by wings, and underneath the picture, written in capital Romanji letters, WINDY.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 4

Several weeks past and Sakura continued to loose cards. All she had left were WINDY, WATERY, SONG, VOICE, FLOWER, and HOPE. Sakura began to get discouraged at her dwindling collection of SAKURA CARDS. "Don't worry Sakura," Tomoyo reassured her, "you'll get the cards back." The whole class noticed Sakura's sadness, but found nothing they tried could cheer her up. It seemed the only truly cheerful person in their class was Seth, and no one knew why. When ever someone would ask him, he simply smiled and said, "Things have just gone really well for me lately."

During lunch, Syaoran and Tomoyo made another attempt at cheering Sakura up. "I know you're worried about the cards," Syaoran told her, "but beating yourself up about it won't do you any good. We need to focus on how we can find Dijoso and get the cards back. Just then, a cry was heard from the other side of the school. "Someone call the fire department!" someone yelled. Chiharu had just come from the side of the school that the voices were coming from, and when Sakura asked her what was going on she said, "Some boy started a fire at the back of the school." "A boy?" Sakura repeated. "Yea," Chiharu continued. "It almost looked like he was on fire himself, but it didn't seem to faze him." Chiharu left them after that, and Sakura pondered for a moment at how Chiharu had described the boy. Then, she muttered "FIRY?" and ran off towards where the fire was. Syaoran and Tomoyo followed.

When they got to the back of the school, Sakura's suspicions were confirmed. The fire had indeed been caused my THE FIRY card. Sakura got out her star key and began to recite the RELEASE spell. "Key which hides the power of the stars, show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. RELEASE!" Sakura then got out two SAKURA CARDS. "Work together to douse the fire and stop FIRY. WINDY! WATERY!" just as Sakura commanded, the two card spirits combined their powers and defeated FIRY. Then, all three returned to their card forms and flew towards a dark figure behind the corner of the building. The figure grabbed the cards and ran. Syaoran ran after the figure, but Sakura stopped to tell Tomoyo to find Kero and Yue before running after them. This pause caused Sakura to loose sight of the two, but she had a vague idea of which way they went.

Finally, Sakura caught up to Syaoran, who was standing perfectly still. "Sakura," he said, not turning around. "You must stop him. Please, you must stop him." "Stop who?" Sakura asked, confused. "Dijoso, he must not get the remaining cards. He's making us do such terrible things, and there's nothing we can do. He's turned us all into his own cards, but we don't want him as our master. We want you. You are kind and thoughtful. He is a ruthless monster. " Sakura was very confused. "Syaoran, wha… MIRROR?!" Sakura gasped. MIRRIOR turned around and her image changed to match Sakura's" "Sakura," cried MIRROR, "please, seal me away so I may rejoin you. Change me back into a SAKURA CARD. Please, hurry, before he…" MIRROR fell silent. "MIRROR?" Sakura said. "What's…" but before she could finish, MIRROR ran at Sakura at full speed. "MIRROR, what's wrong?" Sakura said as she dodged her. Syaoran, having lost the mysterious figure, ran around the corner of the school and knocked MIRROR onto the ground. "Sakura are you alright?" he asked, not noticing the MIRROR had gotten up. "Syaoran, look out!" Sakura yelled as MIRROR lunged at him with clenched fists. Syaoran dodged her and prepared to fight back. "Syaoran wait, Sakura cried, "don't hurt her. It's MIRROR!" "What? MIRROR?" Syaoran repeated. Then, MIRROR ran away. "Syaoran, we have to help her." said Sakura.

Syaoran went after MIRROR, but before Sakura could follow, she heard a voice from behind the corner of the school. She turned around and saw the same dark figure they had seen before. "The bond you share with the cards is simply amazing." said the figure in an all too familiar voice. "to think THE MIRROR card would be able to show free will, even after being transformed by my magic." The figure stepped out of the shadows to reveal mid-length blond hair, blue eyes, and the boy's uniform. "Seth?! You're Dijoso?!" said the stunned Sakura. "You've surprised me so far Sakura. Your magic is almost as great as Clow Reed's, and the bond you share with the cards is simply remarkable. I wish I could have meet you sooner, but I wanted to wait until all the cards had been sealed before I made my move. I could have come last year, but when I sensed Clow Reed here, I knew it would be too risky to take the both of you on. So I waited, biding my time until you were alone so I could take the cards with minimal effort. I'll admit though, I hadn't counted on a Li to be here, but then again it did make things more interesting."

Meanwhile, Syaoran had finally caught up with MIRROR. MIRROR, wait, ii know you're afraid," Syaoran told her, "but it's OK. I'm not going to hurt you." MIRROR stood silent for a few minutes, then said "Your, Syaoran, right? You tried to capture us once as well didn't you?" Syaoran nodded "Yes, but now all I want is to help you get back with Sakura." MIRROR paused again, then said "Sakura! You have to go back, Sakura's in danger." "What?" said Syaoran, having thought Sakura had been behind him the whole time. "Dijoso is after her, please, you must saver her. Save her, and then you can save us." MIRROR began to fade. "Please, you must hurry," she continued, "before it's too late to save her from him." Syaoran nodded and ran back as fast as he could to where he had left Sakura, MIRROR disappearing behind him.

When Syaoran found Sakura, she was unconscious in Seth's arms. "You, I should have known. You're Dijoso aren't you." Said Syaoran as he got out his sword. Syaoran began to charge at him as he said "GET AWAY FROM SAKURA!" Seth got out a staff with a large gem on top of it. He waved it and said "Remind me to destroy you next time Li." And with that, he and Sakura vanished. Just them Keroberos and Yue flew in for the battle they had just missed. Keroberos looked around for a moment, then said "Kid, where is Sakura?" Syaoran fell to his knees and dropped his sword on the ground. "Sakura's gone." He said, unable to keep the tears from rolling down his face. "Dijoso took her. She's gone, I couldn't save her." Keroberos got in his face and said, "What do you mean she's gone?! You mean to tell me that Dijoso now not only has all 53 SAKURA CARDS, but Sakura as well?! How could you let this happen, you were supposed to be protecting her!" Yue put his hand on Keroberos's shoulder and said, "That's enough Keroberos. He tried his best, but we can't let ourselves get wrapped up in what has already happened. We must focus on getting Sakura and the cards back. Li, if you're up to it, we could really use your help." Knowing Yue was right, Syaoran picked himself up, and a look of determination crossed his face. _Hold on Sakura, _ he thought to himself, _we're coming._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 5

When Sakura woke up, she found herself in a dark, empty room. She also noticed that her school uniform had been replaced with a frilly pink dress with several bows, wings that resembled Kero's, and a matching hat. It was the same as the costume that Tomoyo had designed for the bear she made Syaoran. "So, your awake." said a voice that Sakura recognized to be Seth's. No, not Seth, Dijoso. "I hope you like your outfit, I know how much you like to wear Deidouji's costumes, so I modeled it after the one you made for that bear." Sakura stood up. "Why are you doing this?" she asked. "Why?" Dijoso repeated, because, I like you. And I also think you're too good for that Li kid."

Meanwhile, Sakura's friends were in hot pursuit of Dijoso's hideout. They had been unable to find the cards with Syaoran's compass board before, but now that the all had been changed into Dijoso cards, it finally started to work. Syaoran was wearing his ceremonial robes, and Tomoyo was already rolling with her camera. The two of them were riding on Keroberos, and he and Yue were flying in the air. "Why do I have to be the one to carry the kid?" Kero complained. "An overgrown plush toy wasn't exactly my first choice either you know." Syaoran snapped back. "You're just lucky Tomoyo's back there or you wouldn't be." Kero growled. "Enough." commanded Yue. "How much farther Li?" Tomoyo asked. "Not much farther." Syaoran replied. "But, Deidouji, shouldn't you have stayed behind? This could get dangerous." "But Sakura is in even more danger. And I refuse to sit home while she's in trouble." "You should be glad Tomoyo's here." Keroberos said gleefully. "Tomoyo is the only thing keeping me from flying upside down." "Just try it!" Syaoran dared. "Enough" Yue commanded. "Keroberos, your constant fighting with Li is not going to help anything." "He started it" Keroberos lied.

Syaoran's compass board led them to an area in the idle of the desert. "This doesn't make any sense," said Syaoran, "they should be here." Then, out of nowhere, a blue thunderbolt came flying at the group. Keroberos and Yue dodged the attack and landed on the desert sand. The bolt had come from Dijoso and THE THUNDER card. Syaoran jumped off of Keroberos and drew his sword. "Where is Sakura." He demanded. Dijoso put THE THHUNDER card away and got out another. "You sure are a persistent bunch aren't you." he said. "Where is she!" Syaoran repeated. "Sakura is fine." Dijoso replied. "However, you on the other hand, should go home while you can before I get angry." Syaoran charged at Dijoso and said "I'm not leaving without Sakura!" Dijoso used THE SWORD card and his staff transformed into a sharp, steel sword. He and Syaoran began a heated sword fight, neither one giving an inch.

Sakura, having escaped Dijoso's hideout, made it up to where Syaoran and Dijoso were fighting. Dijoso jumped back and prepared to use THE FIRY card. "Syaoran!" Sakura yelled as she raced over to help. Having not noticed Sakura, Dijoso used the card in his hand and a burst of flames reared towards Syaoran. Sakura jumped in front of him to block the attack, but then she realized that the flames were not hot. When the flames died out, Sakura just stood there, completely unfazed by the card. Frustrated that Sakura continued to defy him, Dijoso got THE THUNDER card back out and prepared to use it on her, but when he touched his staff to it, nothing happened. While Dijoso was distracted Syaoran knocked him down, grabbed the DIJOSO CARDS, and handed them to Sakura. "Syaoran," Sakura said, "I'm going to need your help again to transform the cards back into SAKURA CARDS." After she released the star wand, Sakura made the cards float around her and she and Syaoran recited the spell to transform them in unison. "Cards, created by Clow, abandon your old form, and reincarnate, under the name of your new master Sakura!"

Dijoso watched in horror as all 53 cards were once again transformed into SAKURA CARDS. Now he was really angry. Dijoso got to his feet and began to mutter a spell in Chinese. Recognizing the spell, Keroberos told Sakura to use the float card, and fast. Sakura searched through her deck of cards for the float card, but before she could find it, Dijoso unleashed his spell. He jammed his staff into the ground and from it emitted a large fissure. It rushed towards Sakura and Syaoran and they fell through before they had a chance to react. It seemed as if Dijoso had won.

With Sakura and Syaoran out of the way, Dijoso turned his attention towards Keroberos, Yue and Tomoyo. "It's a shame, I really did like her." Said Dijoso "You monster!" said the angry Keroberos. "I'll make you pay for this!" Keroberos jumped into the air and launched a fire attack on Dijoso. "Deidouji, stay here." said Yue before joining the fight. Yue launched a flurry of diamond-like shards at Dijoso. Dijoso blocked both attacks with ease. "What's wrong?" Dijoso taunted. "I don't remember you two being this weak. Has your time in that book diminished your powers? Or is it because your master is gone?"

But Sakura was not gone. She and Syaoran had caught a hold of a ledge deep inside the crevice. "Sakura, are you alright?" Syaoran asked her as he helped her up ledge. "I'm fine," she replied, "Lets get out of here." Sakura once again released the star wand. Once she had, however, everything around her seemed to disappear. Sakura then found herself floating, in what looked like outer space, and Clow Reed appeared in front of her. "Sakura," he began, "there is something you must be aware of before you confront Dijoso. Dijoso is not the type of person who can change. He will always have the same dark heart he has always had. I realize that you are a gentle person who dose not like to hurt people, so I will teach you a spell that will merely seal Dijoso and his evil away. However, this is a powerful, and dangerous spell, and should only be used as a last resort. It is called THE BANISHMENT spell, and it was created only to be used against people like Dijoso. This spell is not to be taken lightly, and must only be used with the purest of intentions."

Up on the surface, Dijoso was about to launch a finishing spell. "Dijoso!" called Sakura from the crevice. Stunned that Sakura and Syaoran were still alive, Dijoso lowered his staff and directed his attention towards the crevice. Sakura and Syaoran rose from the crevice surrounded by THE FLOAT card. "So you're still alive." Dijoso grunted. "But you're still no match for me. Even with the cards." Sakura and Syaoran landed at the mouth of the crevice. "Dijoso," Sakura began, "I had hoped that you might change and we could become friends. But I realize now that that is not going to happen. You leave me with no choice. Heart of ice, soul of evil, recede to the guise of no return. BANISHMENT!" a dimensional rift opened behind Dijoso and began to pull him through. "This can't be happening!" Dijoso screamed in anger. "How could you possibly know that spell? Clow Reed is the only one who knew that spell." Dijoso disappeared inside the vortex. Dijoso had been defeated. It was finally over.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 6

It was dark. Sakura stood in an empty room wearing a silver costume with light green timings and a vine-like pattern of the same green, and a jacket with the same silver color and the same light-green trimmings. At fist, Sakura thought she was alone, but then she saw a figure in the distance. A closer look identified the figure to be Syaoran, who is wearing his ceremonial robes, but he appeared to not be moving. Sakura called his name, but as she did so, he collapsed on to the ground. Sakura ran over to him and help him in her arms and began to panic. Then she started crying uncontrollably, screaming his name and begging him not to leave her. Then, silence.

When Sakura woke up, she found Kero had been trying to get her up for several minutes. "Sakura," he said in a worried tone. "What's wrong? You were talking in your sleep again. Is it that dream you've been having?" Sakura did not reply. "When are you going to tell me about it? Maybe I can help." Sakura decided that it probably would be best to tell him. I see," said Kero, "that dose sound bad." "Kero, you don't think something like that could actually happen do you?" Sakura asked him, almost afraid of the answer. "I don't know." said Kero. "But, it's like I told you before. As a magical being, you have the ability to see the future in your dreams. So it is likely that this was another foretelling dream." "I don't want to lose him Kero." Sakura panicked. "Isn't there anything you can do?" "We could try using the cards to tell your fortune and see if we can figure out just what it is we're dealing with." replied Kero. "Yea, it worked when we captured MIRROR." said Sakura, sounding a little more hopeful.

Sakura placed 9 cards on her desk. 1 on top, 2 beneath it, then 3, 2, 1 and the rest were set aside. Then, Sakura closed her eyes and said "Cards created by Clow, reply to my query. Show before me the true guise of the one standing in my way." Then a magic-like calm fell over the whole room. After the calm, Sakura flipped over the card on top to reveal THE DARK. "Not DARK!" Kero panicked. "This is not good. THE DARK represents the coming of evil. We may be dealing with a new enemy." "But that doesn't explain my dream." Sakura said. She flipped over the three cards in the middle. First was HOPE, then ILLUSION and ERASE. "What do these cards mean Kero?" Sakura asked. "Well," Kero began, "THE HOPE card can have two different meanings in this case. It can either be about hope it's self, or it could referring to you and the kid, because it was fused with THE LOVE card. As for ILLUSION and ERASE, ILLUSION shows something that is not really there. But, ERASE can also have two meanings. The power of ERASE it's self can't erase things for good, but in the case of fortune telling, it can some times mean something disappears permanently. My guess is that this new enemy you will have to face will some how come between you and the kid. But I can't say for certain. Look at the card on the bottom of the deck and let's see what this new enemy is after." Sakura did as Kero said and flipped over the deck she had set aside to reveal THE POWER card. "Well now isn't that just typical." said Kero. "What is?" Sakura asked. "It's just as the card says. All this new enemy wants is power. You'll find it's a common goal." Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Common monster," called Toya from the other side of the door. "Quit talking to your self and get ready for school." Sakura opened the door as her brother walked down the hall. "Don't call me a monster!" she scolded.

At the Li mansion, Syaoran was also having a difficult time sleeping. Wei knocked on the door and entered the room. "Master Syaoran, are you still asleep?" he asked. Syaoran sat up and said he had not been able to fall asleep in the first place. "I don't know what t is, but I feel like something's wrong." said Syaoran. "Perhaps it is that it is already 7:30 and that you are going to be late for school if you don't hurry." Syaoran jumped out of bed and rushed to get ready for school. Deciding that he did not have time for breakfast, Syaoran left right away. As he left, however, Wei called out saying he had forgotten his lunch, but he was too far away, and in too much of a hurry, to hear.

At school, Tomoyo noticed that both Sakura and Syaoran seemed distracted "Is something wrong Sakura?" she asked. "I'm fine," Sakura replied. "I just haven't been getting a whole lot of sleep lately." "You too?" asked Syaoran. "Have you sensed anything unusual lately?" Sakura shook her head and said it was nothing. Syaoran could tell that that something was bothering her, but did not say anything.

At lunch, Sakura kept thinking about what Kero had said that morning. She wanted to tell Syaoran about her dream and what the fortune said, but she also did not want him to worry. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she did not see Syaoran knelt on the ground, realizing he had forgotten his lunch. Not watching where she was going, Sakura tripped over the stressed Syaoran.

"Sakura!"

"Sorry."

"Watch where you're going."

"I said I was sorry."

"You need to pay attention. You want a repeat of what happened with Dijoso?"

"I…"

"It's time to get you head out of the clouds and start getting serious. You can't just wander around without thinking of what you're doing. No wonder your brother calls you a monster!"

Sakura began to cry. Syaoran noticed her tears and stopped yelling long enough to realize what he had just done. "S-Sakura, I…" he began, but before Syaoran could apologize, Sakura ran off. Syaoran ran after her, but he could not catch up to her. He tried again after school let out, but Sakura left before he could get the chance.

When she got home, Sakura was still upset about what had happened at school, and barely even acknowledged Kero's presence. "What's wrong Sakura?" he asked her. Then, Sakura's phone started to ring. Sakura looked at the caller ID, placed the phone on the desk, and then crawled into bed. "Sakura, aren't you going to answer it?" Kero asked. Sakura just lied in bed. The phone stopped ringing, then after a few minutes started up again. Kero decided to take matters into his own hands and answered the phone for her. "Hello?" he said into the phone. "Is Sakura there?" asked Syaoran from the other line. "I really need to talk to her." Sakura walked up to Kero and reached for the phone. "It's the kid," he told her. "He says he really needs to speak with you." Sakura took the phone without saying a word. "Syaoran," she said in a serious tone. "Sakura I…" but before he could finish, Sakura interrupted him. "Syaoran, LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" Before Syaoran could say anything else, Sakura hung up the phone. "Hey, Sakura? What was that about?" asked Kero, shocked, but Sakura said nothing.

Syaoran put the phone down and sighed. Then his phone started to ring. "Sakura?" he asked answering the phone. But it wasn't Sakura, it was Tomoyo.

"Oh, it's you Deidouji."

"Li, did something happen between you and Sakura today?"

"We… had a fight. I said some things… I tried apologizing but she won't talk to me."

"Oh my."

"I'm sorry Deidouji, I have to go. I have to talk to her."

"Just give her some time. Sakura is not the type to stay mad for very long."

"Alright. Thanks Deidouji."

Back at Sakura's house, Kero was trying to stop Sakura from tossing her phone out the window. "Sakura you can't throw your phone away!" he told her, holding struggling to keep hold of the phone. "It was a gift from Tomoyo. What if she or I need to get a hold of you? Sakura!" Sakura finally let go of the phone. She then got down on her knees and started crying on the bench next to her window. "What happened to make you so upset with the kid?" Kero asked. Sakura did not say anything. She just kept crying. Just then, a mysterious man came in through the open window and grabbed Sakura. Kero tried to help, but the man knocked him across the room. "Kero!" exclaimed Sakura. "Are you alright?!" the man picked Sakura up and threw her over his shoulder. "I'd be more worried about myself if I were you." Said the man and he took Sakura and left. Kero got up to go after her, but someone opened the door and knocked him back down. "Sakura!" exclaimed Toya as he and Yukito rushed into the room. Toya noticed Kero on the floor, who was dazed after being hit hard twice, and picked him up. "Your name is Keroberos right? Talk, where is she?! Where is my sister?!"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 7

Keroberos, Yue, Syaoran and Tomoyo began looking for Sakura right away. Syaoran was wearing his ceremonial robes and Tomoyo had her video camera at the ready. Both were riding on Keroberos who thought he could sense where Sakura was. "Keroberos," said Yue in a serious tone. How exactly did this happen? Both you and Sakura should have been able to sense the oncoming danger." A look of despair crossed Syaoran's face. "It's my fault." he said. "Yea, that's kindda the impression I got too." Keroberos teased. When Syaoran did not fight back, Keroberos decided that this was probably not the time. "Hey don't worry about it kid. I'm sure what ever you did wasn't intentional."

In an isolated part of the forest, the mad placed Sakura next to a tree, her hands and feet tied. The man got out a magic staff and used the end to draw a circle around Sakura, as well as four lined that went from the border of the circle, straight towards her. Sakura struggled to get free, but to no effect. Thoughts of her friends began to race through her mind. Kero, and the cards. Yukito, and Yue. Toya, and Tomoyo. A fire emanated from the man's staff and a circle of flames surrounded Sakura, proceeding towards her along the lines. "Syaoran." she muttered. She passed out.

As the flames proceeded towards Sakura, the others flew in over head. "There she is!" said Tomoyo. Syaoran wasted no time. He jumped into the flames, grabbed Sakura, and brought her back to the others. The man turned to run, but Keroberos stopped him. "Where do you think you're going?" Keroberos said. "Keroberos," said Syaoran as he readied his sword. "Allow me." There was a fire in his eyes that burned brighter than the flames he had rescued Sakura from. "Ha! You think you can beat me?" the man laughed. "Fat chance kid." Syaoran raced towards the man and swung his sword. The man blocked it with his staff. "What's wrong kid?" the man teased. "You mad 'cuz I took your little girlfriend?" Syaoran swung his sword again, this time breaking the man's staff in two. The man was worried now. "Sakura!" Tomoyo exclaimed. "She's alright, thank goodness." "P-please, d-don't hurt me." the man pleaded. Syaoran lowered his sword and said "Don't EVER come near Sakura again." The man got up and ran. "This isn't over kid." the man declared as he left. "Not by a long shot."

Syaoran walked over to Sakura and the others. "How is she?" he asked. "She's fine." replied Tomoyo. "She's just resting now." Syaoran bent down to Sakura. "Sakura," he said, now holding her in his arms. "I-I don't know if you can hear me now, but. Sakura I am so sorry. I didn't mean it, any of it. But because of me. Sakura." "S-Syaoran." Sakura had woken up. "I'm sorry too."

The man who had kidnapped Sakura ran into a dark room. Then an older man in black robes walked in. "Honzo, has the Cardcaptor been taken care of?" he asked. Honzo bent down on one knee and answered, "No master Atashi. I was about to, but this kid got in my way and broke my…" "So you're saying you were defeated by a couple of children?!" Atashi interrupted. "I don't think I need to remind you what's at stake here. That girl is the only one who can stop my plans. Next time, you are not to return until Clow Reed's Cardcaptor is eliminated. Her, and anyone else who gets in our way. Children or not." Honzo got up and said, "Yes Master Atashi. I won't fail you again.

The next day, Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, Kero, and Yue went back to the place that Honzo had taken Sakura the night before. "I feel a strong presence this circle." said Kero. "This pattern. Who ever this was knew what he was doing. If the kid hadn't saved Sakura when he did, not only would she have disappeared, but so would anything connected to her magic. That includes me, Yue, and the cards." "All the more reason to protect her." said a voice from behind. "Toya, what are you doing here?" asked Sakura. "I was about to ask you the same question." said Toya, looking at Yue. "We came here to try to find clues as to the identity of who ever whoever is after Sakura." Yue told him. _That's right, _thought Sakura, _Toya knew all along about Kero, Yue and the cards. He even gave his magic to Yue, because mine wasn't strong enough to keep him from disappearing._

Behind the bushes, Honzo watched the group closely. "If Master Atashi wants these kids gone that's just fine with me." he said, starring at Syaoran. "I'm gonna enjoy watching that kid suffer. And once he's out of the way, the Cardcaptor will be easy." Syaoran walked up to the tree in the center of the circle, Sakura following close behind. "The magic seems strongest here at this tree." He pointed out. Kero told them it was because that was where the spell would have finished. Then, Tomoyo pointed out that it was time for lunch and that they should go get something to eat. Yue transformed back into Yukito and they all got ready to leave. Sakura left the circle and joined the others, but when Syaoran tried to follow her, something stopped him. "Syaoran, what's wrong? Sakura asked. Syaoran began to pound on the invisible wall which blocked his way. Then, Yukito noticed that the tree behind Syaoran had been somehow set on fire once more. As one would expect from burning ash, a thick, black smoke emanated from the fire, making it difficult for Syaoran to breathe. Syaoran tried to get out his sword, but for some reason his magic was not working. This did, however, give Sakura an idea. Sakura got out her star key and a SAKURA CARD and began to recite the RELEASE spell. "Key which hides the power of the stars, show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. RELEASE! SWORD!" Using THE SWORD card, Sakura was able to cut through the invisible wall. Then, Sakura used THE WATERY card to put out the fire. The danger gone, Sakura turned her attention to Syaoran. "Syaoran, are you alright?" she asked. Although he told her he was, Sakura knew he was lying when he collapsed into her arms. "Syaoran!" Sakura said as she caught him. "You're not alright right. You have to take it easy." "Hey kid, don't push yourself and set a bad example for my sister." Said Toya in a somewhat mean voice. "Toya be nice!" Sakura scolded. "Come on," said Yukito, "let's get you home."

Sakura helped Syaoran home while the rest followed them a few steps back. Tomoyo was having a ball filming the two of them. "Why are you filming?" Toya asked her "I can't miss 'Sakura Play's Nurse'." she answered. Toya looked confused. "It really is hard to find Sakura anything but adorable." said Yukito. Toya went back to staring at Sakura and Syaoran. "Shut up Yuki." Toya growled.

They turned the corner and same up to Syaoran's house. "I can walk on my own." Syaoran told Sakura. "I know." Sakura replied. Sakura helped Syaoran into his house and straight into his room. Tomoyo ran to Syaoran's bedroom window to continue filming, the others following her. Syaoran sat down on his bed. "Can I get you anything?" Sakura asked him. Syaoran shook his head. "Syaoran," Sakura continued. "As much as I hate to admit it, Toya's right. Don't push your self too hard. I don't know who is behind all this, but I do know that I can't do this with out you." Just then, something caught Sakura, Syaoran, Kero, and Yukito's attention. It was the same presence they had felt around the tree. Kero tried going through the open window, but another invisible wall prevented it. Syaoran told Sakura to get THE SWORD card ready while he went to get Wei. Sakura got out the star key and said her spell as Syaoran left the room, but when she finished the spell, the key would nut turn into a wand.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 8

"Key which hides the power of the stars, show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. RELEASE!" Although Sakura said the release spell, the star key did not turn into a wand. "Kero, it's not working!" Sakura panicked. "It's this barrier," Kero told her, "it's blocking your magic." "Master Syaoran!" called Wei from another room. Sakura ran to where she heard them and found another fire had started. Sakura saw Wei bent down next to Syaoran who was unconscious. "Syaoran!" Sakura cried as she ran over to them. "Syaoran, wake up! Syaoran!" desperate to save Syaoran, Sakura got the star key back out. "RELEASE!" she cried. "RELEASE! RELEASE! Oh Syaoran, please hold on."

Meanwhile, outside, Yukito and Kero transformed and flew up above the Li mansion. Yue pointed to a spot in the center of the roof and said that it was the area where the magic was weakest. He and Keroberos attacked the spot where he was pointing at and were then able to get inside to help Sakura. Sakura had all about lost hope when she heard Keroberos calling for her. "Kero!" Sakura exclaimed when she finally saw them. "Hurry, Syaoran needs help." Sakura got Syaoran onto Keroberos, Yue carried Wei, and they all flew out of the burning building.

By the time they got out, the fire department had arrived and already started to put out the fire. Tomoyo and Toya waited outside, beside one of the fire trucks. "Sakura." said Tomoyo, worried about her friend. Then, Yukito carried Syaoran from behind the corner of the building, followed by Sakura and Wei. Tomoyo ran up to Sakura. "Sakura, you're not hurt anywhere are you?" she asked. Sakura shook her head. "I'm fine, but… Syaoran." An ambulance came to take Syaoran to the hospital. Sakura, who was not allowed to go with him ran after the ambulance for as long as she could, but finally gave up when she lost sight of it.

When Sakura got home from school the next day, she immediately went up to her room to change so she could go visit Syaoran. After she changed, there was a knock on the door. "Hey Sakura, can I come in?" asked Toya from the other side. "I'm home. You're going to see that kid, aren't you?" "He's not a kid Toya." Sakura said angrily. "He has a name. It's Syaoran." Kero tried to get Sakura to calm down, but to no effect. "You're going to." Toya said, pointing at Kero. "Na, I thought I'd let Sakura have some alone time with the kid." Sakura shot both of them a deadly look. "SYAO-RON!" she scolded. "That wasn't a question," said Toya, engorging Sakura. "You ARE going." "Why do I have to go?" Kero complained. "You're not." said Sakura. "Yes he is." Toya said sternly. "He's going incase something happens and you need his help. It's his job to protect you and I intend on making sure he dose." Sakura put on some shoes, opened the window, and released the star wand. "JUMP." Tiny wings grew on Sakura's shoes and she jumped out the window. "Go." Toya commanded Kero, pointing at the window.

When Sakura arrived at the hospital, Syaoran was already asleep and Wei was finishing a cross word puzzle. "Try to keep it short." said the nurse that let her in. "Hello Lady Sakura." whispered Wei. "Hello." Sakura whispered back. Sakura put the flowers she had brought in a vase next to Syaoran's bed, then knelt down next to him. Kero poked his head out of Sakura's backpack and noticed that Syaoran was hooked up to a breathing machine. "Hey, Sakura, what's that thing hooked up to the ki-I mean Li?" While Wei explained it to him, Sakura wound up falling asleep, holding Syaoran's hand as she did so.

As Sakura slept, thoughts of Syaoran swept through her dreams. In her dreams, Sakura was reliving the day she sealed THE HOPE card. The other cards had already been captured and turned into SAKURA CARDS, but this card was special. In order to be sealed away, the card had to take the feeling that was most important from whoever had the strongest magic. It had also been the first time Sakura had seen Syaoran since he told her he liked her, and she had yet to tell him her feelings. Sakura stood alone with THE HOPE card in some sort of tower in the amusement park. Sakura held her wand up to the card and said, "Return to the guise you were meant to be in. CLOW CARD!" The orb of dark light that surrounded the card vanished. _I guess, I wasn't able to tell him how I feel after all,_ Sakura thought to herself. She then started the spell to change the card into a SAKURA CARD. "Card created by Clow, abandon your old form, and reincarnate, under the name of your new master Sakura!" The card was then sealed, and the same orb of dark light that was surrounding the card formed around Syaoran, who had just made it there. "Syaoran!" Sakura panicked. "I'm glad I made it in time." he told her. "It looks like I had more magic left than you. Of course, it's because you used up so many cards in one day." "Syaoran." Sakura repeated. "Even if this feeling that is most important to me disappears," Syaoran continued, "I'm sure, Sakura I'll…" Syaoran was interrupted when the dark light disappeared. "SYAORAN!" Sakura screamed. She started to cry. She could not believe this was happening. Then, THE LOVE card floated out of Sakura's pocket, and fused with THE HOPE card. "Don't cry," said HOPE as she floated in front of Sakura in card form. "It's alright." Sakura took the card, and then looked at Syaoran. "Syaoran. It's alright even if you no longer have any feelings for me. But, I'm in love with you. You're my number one Syaoran." Syaoran just stood there, looking at her, and Sakura began to cry again. Then, Syaoran said "Me too." Sakura began to stop crying. "Sakura." Sakura found this even harder to believe, but she did not care. "Syaoran." She said, but just as she did, something happened that had not happened on the night Sakura was dreaming about. Syaoran's eyes became blank and he fell off of the steps, unconscious. "Syaoran!" Sakura screamed. She used THE FLY card and tried to catch him, but by the time she reached the bottom of the light house, Syaoran was no where to be found.

Sakura, called a familiar voice. "Sakura, wake up! Sakura!" Sakura woke up to find Kero had been the one calling her. Sakura was back in the hospital room, halve rested on Syaoran's bed. The room was dark, and the only light in the room came from outside the window. "It's about time you woke up, we've got big trouble." said Kero. "Someone's using magic to cut off the power to the whole hospital. You have to use THE SHEILD card and fast!" "Right." Sakura replied. "Key which hides the power of the stars, show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. RELEASE! SHEILD!" The card did the trick, and the power was restored to the whole hospital. As soon as the power went back on, a doctor came in to check on Syaoran. Sakura quickly hid Kero and the star wand behind her back. "I was afraid of this." said the doctor. "What is it? What wrong?" Sakura panicked. The doctor called some more doctors in and the hurried Syaoran to another room. "How much time do we have?" asked a second doctor. "Not much." answered the first. "Kero, please tell me there's something I can do!" Sakura panicked. "A card, a spell you can teach me, anything!" Kero was silent, then, "There is one spell, but it's dangerous." "I'll do it!" Sakura insisted. "Now wait a minute," Kero continued. "This is a powerful spell, there's a good chance you… Sakura this spell could…" "I don't care." Sakura interrupted. "If I don't, then Syaoran… Kero I have to try."

Wei stepped outside to make sure no one came in unexpectedly while Sakura used her magic. "I'll lone you as much of my magic as I can to ease the strain this spell will have on you." said Kero. "Now, repeat after me." Kero began to recite a spell in Chinese, and Sakura joined in as he began to repeat it. And as they chanted, Sakura prayed.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 9

Sakura and Kero stood alone in the hospital room chanting the spell that would hopefully save Syaoran's life. _Please, let this work, _Sakura prayed. They continued chanting until Kero said they were done. Then, the star wand transformed back into a key, and Sakura collapsed.

Just as Sakura had collapsed, Syaoran, who had been moved to the Emergency Room, woke up, completely rejuvenated. The doctors were baffled by his sudden recovery. While they pondered at what had happened, Syaoran had a vague idea. Despite protests, Syaoran rushed back to his room, praying he was wrong. His prayers went un-answered. When Syaoran made it back to his room, he found Sakura unconscious on the floor. Syaoran bent down next to Sakura and held her in his arms. "Sakura." he said quietly. "Why? Why did you… Sakura." Syaoran turned to Kero and shouted "Keroberos! How could you… how could you let her do this?" Kero was silent "Answer me!" Syaoran snapped. "I couldn't stop her. "Kero finally said. "There was nothing I could do." "That's no excuse!" Syaoran snapped. "S-Syaoran." Sakura whispered in her sleep. "Be… alright."

Syaoran sat silently in the waiting room while Kero and Wei watched him from the other side of the room. The bell from the elevator around the corner rang, and Fujitaka walked out, followed by Toya and Yukito. After telling the clerk who he was, Fujitaka walked over to Syaoran and bent down so they were at eye level. "It was Syaoran, correct?" he asked. Syaoran nodded, but did not say anything. Fujitaka smiled and said, "Thank you." Syaoran was confused. Why was he thanking him when it was his fault that Sakura was in her current condition? "Thank you," Fujitaka repeated, "for caring so much about my daughter." A nurse walked up to them and said, "I can let you in now, but only three at a time." Fujitaka nodded and he, Toya and Yukito went in to see Sakura.

While Syaoran waited in the lobby, another familiar voice called his name. Syaoran looked up to find a boy with short, dark blue hair and glasses, and an older girl with long, red hair, holding what looked like Kero, except black. Syaoran recognized them to be Eriol, Nakuru, and Spinel. "It's been a while, hasn't it Li?" Eriol said. Syaoran nodded and asked if they where here to see Sakura. "Yes," answered Eriol. "I could sense what she was doing from England, so I came as soon as I could to make sure she was alright." The door to Sakura's room opened and Fujitaka, Toya and Yukito came out. "Toya!" called Nakuru as she threw her arms around him. "I'm sorry about what happened to your sister, but it's great to see you again!" "A-Akizuki, what are you doing here?" said Toya as he struggled to get her off of him. "I came to see you of course." she replied. "Get off!" Toya commanded angrily.

When Nakuru finally let go of Toya, she, Eriol, and Syaoran went in to see Sakura. Eriol carried in Kero and Spinel, who had to pretend to be plush toys in public. Syaoran bent down next to Sakura, who was asleep. "Li," Eriol began, "I wish to speak with you about something important. As I hear, you helped Sakura to change the cards from Dijoso cards, into SAKURA CARDS. It seems that because your magic was used to change the cards, that you are now capable of using them." Bothe Syaoran and Kero were shocked by this news. "How come I wasn't aware of this?" Kero demanded. "Not even Clow Reed himself could have predicted this." Eriol continued. "Clow made several predictions for both Sakura and the cards that have gone in different directions than he had anticipated." Eriol paused, closed his eyes, then said, "Let's save the rest for another day. It's time." "Time for what?" Syaoran asked. Just then, a card came through the open window and landed next to Sakura. Syaoran picked it up and realized it was THE SHEILD card that Sakura had used before. Eriol opened his eyes, looked up, and said, "Now it begins. Get ready."

Honzo appeared in the tree outside the window. "It's about time," he said, "I was about to fall asleep out here." Honzo jumped through the window and landed behind Eriol and Nakuru. "Li," said Eriol, his voice still calm. "Perhaps it would be wise to use THE SLEEP card. Syaoran got out his sword and did as Eriol instructed. He touched his sword to the card, said "SLEEP!" and put everyone in the hospital to sleep. Next, Syaoran used THE WATERY card and knocked Honzo out of the room. Yue, who had transformed when THE SLEEP card was activated, rushed over to see what the commotion was about. Honzo then ran out off, and Syaoran Kero and Yue followed him. Eriol, Nakuru and Spinel also left Sakura's room, but in the opposite direction.

When they reached the end of the hallway, Eriol got out a key, much like Sakura's star key, but this one had a sun and moon on it. "Key which hides the power of the dark," Eriol began. "show your true form before me. I, Eriol, command you under our contract. RELEASE!" Eriol's key turned into a staff with the same sun and moon at it's end. Nakuru and Spinel transformed into their true forms, Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun. Ruby looked like an angel with red robes and red and black butterfly wings, and Spinel looked like a black panther with purple and black butterfly wings. "You can come out now," said Eriol. "I know your there." Honzo's boss, Atashi, stepped out of the shadows. You are behind the recent incidences, correct?" said Eriol. "And you must be Clow Reed's reincarnation." said Atashi. The four of them stood silent in the hallway, as if they knew what the other was thinking.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 10

Toya, who had been unaffected by THE SLEEP card, ran into Sakura's room to make sure she was OK. When Sakura awoke, Toya told her what had happened. So, with her magic back at full strength, Sakura left to go help Syaoran and the others.

Syaoran, Keroberos and Yue were in hot pursuit of Honzo. "Hey kid, try THE WINDY card." said Kero. Syaoran did as Kero instructed and Honzo was trapped in the binding wind. "Just who are you?" Syaoran demanded. "And why are you after Sakura." Honzo laughed and said, "Like I'd really tell you, kid." Honzo broke free of WINDY and launched a fury of fire attacks, which were just barely dogged. Syaoran used THE JUMP card, but it did not help much.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Eriol was in a stand off against Atashi. "You know who I am," said Eriol, "now perhaps you could tell me who you are. And why you are after Sakura" "All you need to know is that I am the great Master Atashi." said Atashi "As to your Cardcaptor, that will remain my secret." "I must warn you," said Eriol, "you should not underestimate Sakura. She is powerful, and so are her friends." "Duly noted." said Atashi. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be." With that, Atashi got out his own staff and vanished into thin air. "Are you sure you should have just let him leave like that?" asked Spinel. Eriol smiled and said "I have faith in those two."

Elsewhere, Honzo had gained the upper hand against Syaoran. Honzo launched another fire attack, and while Syaoran dogged it, he dropped the cards onto the ground. Honzo prepared a final attack, but just as he launched it, Sakura ran up and touched her want to one of the cards Syaoran had dropped. "SHEILD!" said Sakura, and Honzo's attack was blocked by the cards magic. Sakura ran over to Syaoran to make sure he was OK. "Let's get him." said Sakura as she helped him up. Syaoran nodded and they turned to face Honzo. This time, he was the one in trouble.

Honzo tried to evade Sakura and Syaoran's attacks, but he was no match for the Cardcaptor duo. Then, out of nowhere, a beam of dark energy struck Honzo from behind. Honzo looked towards where the beam had come from and saw none other than Atashi. "Master Atashi, why?" said Honzo weakly. "You have failed me for the last time, Honzo." barked Atashi. "You can't even handle two children. I have no use for someone like you." Honzo pleaded for mercy, but Atashi would not have it. In another flash of dark light, Honzo was gone. Atashi then turned towards Sakura and Syaoran. "You can be sure we'll meet again." He told them. Then, Atashi disappeared in another flash of dark light.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 11

Through the night, Sakura tossed and turned in bed. For the past few nights, Sakura has been plagued by that same night mare she had when she first met Honzo. Kero tried to wake Sakura as she struggled against her nightmarish dreams. When Sakura finally woke up, she was in a cold sweat, and her eyes were puffy from crying. "It's that dream again isn't it?" said Kero. Sakura wiped her eyes and nodded. "Have you told the kid about it yet?" Kero asked. Sakura shook her head and started to say something, but instead scolded Kero for calling Syaoran a kid. "Well," said Kero in a brighter tone, "maybe if he wasn't such a kid." "Kero!" Sakura scolded again.

Later that morning, Sakura, Kero, Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Yue met in an isolated part of the park to discuss recent events. "So, do you think that this Atashi is behind what happened with this other guy as well?" pondered Tomoyo. "Sure looks that way." said Syaoran. "Of course if a certain someone had been a little more careful we would have been able to finish by now." said Kero. Sakura scolded him, but was engorged. "And just what is that supposed to mean?" demanded Syaoran. "Well, I'm just saying." said Kero. "Guys stop." Sakura pleaded. "Well maybe if you had done your job as a guardian instead of stuffing yourself with sweets." snapped Syaoran. "Guys," Sakura pleaded again. Yue put his hand on Sakura's shoulder and asked to speak with her privately. "I wanted to speak with you about Li and Keroberos." said Yue. "I believe it is time to do something about their constant bickering." "But I've tried everything I can think of." said Sakura. "There is one thing you can do," Yue continued. "They wont like it, but perhaps the time has come for you to try THE CHANGE card." Sakura could still remember the mess that they went through the last time Syaoran and Kero switched bodies with THE CHANGE card. "B-but the last time that happened…" "This time will be different." said Yue. "You and Li don't have school today, or tomorrow, so they won't be able to draw unwanted attention. The time spent in each other's bodies will be good for both of them. This is what THE CHANGE card was created for after all." Hesitant at first, Sakura released the star wand and she and Yue walked back to the others.

Syaoran and Kero had not even realized they left. "Greedy little stuffed animal!" shouted Syaoran. "Stupid kid!" shouted Kero. "That's enough!" screamed Sakura, having finally caught their attention. "I'm tired of you two fighting all the time. I didn't want to do this, but I don't see any other way." Sakura got out THE CHANGE card. "Hey, what do you think you're doing with that card?!" panicked Kero. "Switch the hearts of these two individuals." Sakura commanded. "CHANGE!" Once again, Syaoran and Kero switched bodies with the power of THE CHANGE card. Unable to use Kero's wings, Syaoran fell to the ground. "Oh no, not again!" panicked Kero. "Sakura, what did you do that for?!" "I told her." said Yue. "I was tired of your constant arguing and so was Sakura." "You know, you could have just said something," said Kero, "Instead of making me switch with the kid again." "Hey I don't like this anymore than you do." said Syaoran. "Can it kid." barked Kero. "Guys, this is what we're talking about." said Sakura. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now." said Tomoyo. "You're right!" said Kero, sounding a bit more cheerful. "This is my chance to…" "Forget it Kero." Sakura interrupted. ""If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, you can forget it. Unless you want to forget about sweets and video games for a whole month." "A whole month?" exclaimed Kero. "We could make it two if you want." said Sakura. Kero groaned and said "I'll be good."

Kero went to Syaoran's house, and Sakura took Syaoran to hers. Sakura and Syaoran went straight up to Sakura's room, and Sakura put Syaoran on her desk, then bent down to eye level. "Syaoran," Sakura started, "I'm really sorry about this, but it really is hard for me to see you and Kero fighting all the time. You're both really important to me." Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Fujitaka asked Sakura to help him with dinner. Sakura got up and began to leave the room. "I'll bring you something to eat." She said just before leaving. "And Syaoran, I meant what I said. All of it."

That night, Sakura had the same dream again. Syaoran noticed she was tossing in her sleep, and climbed up her bed to try and see what was the matter. When Syaoran realized Sakura was having a nightmare, THE DREAM card activated its self and allowed Syaoran to see Sakura's dream. Syaoran, back in his own body, stood alone in that same, empty room. Just as Syaoran realized he was back in his own body, he heard Sakura calling his name in the distance. When he finally found her, Sakura was wearing a silver costume with light green timings and a vine-like pattern of the same green, and a jacket with the same silver color and the same light-green trimmings. "Syaoran!" Sakura cried. Then, Syaoran realized why she was crying. Another him was lying motionless in her arms.

Back in Kero's body, Syaoran was knocked out of the bed from Sakura's constant tossing. Syaoran then climbed back up, and Sakura woke up. "Syaoran?" Sakura said sleepily. "What are you…" "Never mind that." said Syaoran. "Sakura, THE DREAM card just showed me that dream you were having. Why… why didn't you tell me?" Sakura was silent for a while, then said, "Are you mad?" "No, I just… I just wish you had told me."

Later that morning, Sakura and Syaoran went to the park to meet Kero, Tomoyo and Yue so Kero and Syaoran could switch back. Other than to change Kero and Syaoran, Sakura did not say a word. "It's so good to be back in my own body." said Kero. "Hey, Sakura, sense I was good, can we get some ice cream?" "Can't you think about anything else?" said Syaoran. "Let's not have to do this again, shall we." said Yue. Without saying a word, Sakura slipped off on her own. Kero was about to go after her, but Syaoran insisted on speaking with her privately.

When Syaoran caught up to Sakura, she was standing alone on the same bridge where she had tried to give him the bear. "Sakura," Syaoran began, "we need to talk. Why did you not want to tell me about your dream? I'm not mad at you or anything, I just worry about you is all." Sakura was silent for a minute, then said, "Syaoran I… I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I wanted to… but… Syaoran I don't want to lose you." Sakura ran into Syaoran's arms any started to cry. "Sakura," said Syaoran, "I'm not going anywhere. We'll get through this like we always do. I promise." As Sakura began to calm down, her cell phone started to ring. Toya was on the other end and told her she had chores to do at home. Sakura and Syaoran said their good byes and went their separate ways, but just before she left, Sakura ran back, kissed Syaoran gently on the check, and then went on her way.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 12

Atashi sat in a dark room, staring at the moon through some sort of magic circle. "The time has come" he said. "I must eliminate those children by tomorrow, or it will all be for nothing. I won't let them keep me from my goal." Atashi looked at a pool of water and cast a spell. With Atashi's spell, the water gathered and formed a water monster.

Sakura and Syaoran ran through the forest outside Tomoeda Park. Syaoran was wearing his ceremonial robes, while Sakura wore a light pink costume with a dark blue star on the front, and a matching hat. Atashi's monster was chasing them, its long arms striking the ground like whips. "Sakura, get ready." Syaoran told her. The both stopped and waited for the water monster to catch up. "Now!" Syaoran shouted. Sakura used THE FREEZE card to turn the monster into a motionless statue of ice. Then, Syaoran used THE THUNDER card, and the monster crumbled, and was destroyed. Tomoyo, Keroberos and Yue walked out from behind the trees. "That was perfect you two!" Tomoyo squealed thinking about the wonderful footage she had gotten. "However, I seemed to have missed a little bit. Perhaps during break this week you could use THE CREATE card and let me film the rest."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the park, something that looked like a water orb came down from the sky. When the orb dissolved, two young teenagers, two older men, and a white creature with long ears appeared. One of the men had short, blond hair, sapphire eyes, and wore a long, white robe. The other man had shot, black hair that stood on it's end, red eyes, and was dresses like a ninja/hunter with a cape and a crescent moon on his headband. The two teenagers, one boy, one girl, looked very much like Sakura and Syaoran. "Mokona-san," said the younger boy, looking at the white creature. "Do you sense a feather here?" The white creature, Mokona, opened his eyes, closed them, and said "Mokona dose sense a feather. It's this way. Follow Mokona!" Mokona lead his Tsubasa group in the exact direction of the Cardcaptor group. When the Tsubasa group caught a glimpse of the Cardcaptors, all were stunned with shock. "Well well," said the blond haired man. "Looks like we've found some one we know."

"It would seem we are being watched." said Yue. The Tsubasa group walked up to the Cardcaptor group. The man with blond hair smiled and said, "Let me guess, your Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo, correct?" "Yes we are." said Tomoyo. "U-um, how do you know who we are?" asked Sakura. The man with blond hair smiled again and said, "We come here from another world. I am Fai, this is Mokona-san, Kuro-rin," "Kurogane!" snapped the man with black hair. Fai ignored Kurogane and continued, "Syaoran-kun, and Sakura-chan." The entire Cardcaptor group was shocked to learn that the two teenagers not only looked like Sakura and Syaoran, but also had the same names. "Perhaps I should explain," Fai continued. "You see, in every world there exists the same people with the same hearts, but they live different lives. For example, the Tomoyo-chan in Kuro-chi's world is the princess, where as in another world we visited, she was the president of a major company." "Hey Tomoyo, that kinda sounds like your mom." said Sakura Kinamoto. "So, what are you dong in this world?" asked Syaoran Li. "we're actually on a mission. You see, a while back, Princess Sakura lost a whole bunch of feathers which contained fragments of her memory. The feathers were scattered to different worlds, and we've been searching for them ever since." "Wait a minute," said Sakura Kinamoto, turning towards Princess Sakura. "You're a princess?!" "Yes," said Princess Sakura, "King Clow was my father." This shocked the Cardcaptor group, especially Keroberos and Yue. "Did you say Clow?!" said Keroberos. "As in Clow Reed?!" Princess Sakura nodded her head. "That's impossible." said Yue. "Clow Reed died a very long time ago." This time it was the Tsubasa group that was shocked. "So then, who is your father?" Princess Sakura asked Sakura Kinamoto. "Fujitaka Kinamoto." replied Sakura Kinamoto. "But that's my father." said Syaoran Kinamoto. "You're not a Li?" said Syaoran Li. "Very interesting." said Tomoyo. "Syaoran's dad is Sakura's dad, and Sakura's dad is Clow Reed, who is Li's ancestor." "Mokona is confused." said Mokona. "Which Syaoran and Sakura is she talking about?" "Perhaps you two should go by the names we had in Otō." Fai suggested. "I'd rather stay confused." said Kurogane. Ignoring Kurogane, Fai told the Cardcaptors the nicknames he had been referring to. "Syaoran-kun is Little Puppy, Sakura-chan is Little Kitty, and Kuro-pi is Big Puppy…" "DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN!!!" Kurogane snapped. "Big Puppy is angry!" said Mokona. "They appear to fight more than you and Li." Yue said quietly to Keroberos. "But I can see why he doesn't like those names." Keroberos replied.

"So where are you planning on staying while you're here?" asked Syaoran Li. "Oh, we usually find something." said Fai. "You should stay at my house then." said Syaoran Li. "We have plenty of room, and my family knows all about the magical world, so you wouldn't surprise them." The Tsubasa group accepted his offer, but Princess Sakura had another idea. "Would it be alright if I stayed with you?" she asked Sakura Kinamoto. Syaoran Kinamoto asked if there was something wrong, but she said she just wanted to talk to Sakura Kinamoto privately. Sakura Kinamoto said it would be alright and she and the Princess went to her house, while Kero went with Tomoyo, Yue left in his own direction, and everyone else went to Syaoran Li's.

Sakura Kinamoto and Princess Sakura went up to Sakura Kinamoto's room and Princess Sakura commented on how cute it was. "I hope you don't mind," Princess Sakura started, "but I wanted to ask you about the Syaoran-kun from your world. You see, I'm still missing a lot of my memory feathers, and I don't have any memories of him, but something about Syaoran-kun tells me I've meet him before. I was wondering if you could tell me about what he's like here."

Back at the Li mansion, Syaoran Li and Syaoran Kinamoto were also talking privately. They stood alone on a balcony while Fai, Kurogane and Mokona sat in the room next to it. Fai looked at Syaoran Kinamoto and said "Poor Syaoran-kun, he must be having such a hard time."

"May I ask you something?" said Syaoran Kinamoto. "Are you and Sakura-chan close?"

"We've been close ever since Sakura changed the last CLOW CARD into a SAKURA CARD. Why? Aren't you and the Princess close?"

"We were when we were younger, but…"

"Is it because of her feathers?"

"Partially. You see, when Princess Sakura first lost her feathers, High Priest Yukito-san sent us to see this woman called The Dimensional Witch. She gave us Mokona so we could travel to different worlds to gather the feathers. That was where we meet Fai-san and Kurogane-san as well. The Dimensional Witch made us each give up our most valuable items as payment for Mokona. Fai-san gave up something that helped him control his magic, and Kurogane-san gave up a sword that Princess Tomoyo made for him, but, for me and the Princess. She made it so that even if we get all of the Princess Sakura's feathers, she won't be able to remember me."

"Dose she know?"

"No. If I tell her, or if she even tries to remember on her own, she would be forced to forget."

"Don't worry. If she's anything like the Sakura I know, I'm sure everything will be alright. Sakura told be that during the Final Judgment of the CLOW CARDS, she was forced into a dream where she and everyone else forgot about the person they cared most for. But Sakura could not forget the bonds she had made thanks to the cards. Sakura may be a little clumsy, and her magic is not what she would like it to be, but no one can make her forget. And if anything else happens, you can always use Sakura's invincible spell. 'I will definitely be alright'."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 13

The next day was to be spent searching for Princess Sakura's feather. However, there was a small problem. Syaoran Kinamoto, Fai, and Kurogane did not have clothing that would allow them to blend in. just as they were thinking about the problem, there was a knock at the door. Syaoran Li opened the door to find Tomoyo with Sakura Kinamoto and Princess Sakura. Princess Sakura was wearing a magenta tank top over a white tee-shirt, a short skirt which matched the tank top, long, white socks, and shoes that matched the top and skirt. Sakura Kinamoto was wearing a similar outfit, but in a lighter pink. "Hyuu," said Fai. "Sakura-chan really dose look good in anything." Tomoyo held out a medium sized box and said "I figured it would be a problem if people saw you in your regular clothing, so I had these picked up last night." Tomoyo handed the box of cloths to the boys and they got changed.

The group began their search in the city. Mokona noticed Tomoyo was filming and asker her what she was doing. "I can't miss filming Sakura's ultra cuteness times two." she said. "I'll never get another chance like this again." Just then, a voice that was all too familiar to the Cardcaptor group called out Syaoran Li's name. They turned around and saw Meilin running towards them from down the road. "Syaoran, Kinamoto, Deidouji!" she called out. Meilin called Syaoran Li's name again and jumped to hug him. The force of her jump combined with the weight of her body knocked Syaoran Li to the ground. "M-Meilin," said Syaoran Li. "What are you… I thought you said you weren't going to do this anymore." He and Meilin got up and Meilin said, "Just because we had our engagement called off doesn't mean I can't be happy to see you." Syaoran Kinamoto asked what she was talking about and Tomoyo explained that when they were younger, Meilin had made Syaoran Li promise to marry her, but that she ended up calling it off when they were in the 5th grade. Meilin asked about the Tsubasa group and Sakura Kinamoto explained to her about Princess Sakura's feathers.

After introducing Meilin to the Tsubasa group, they all went to a local shop for ice cream. However, Tomoyo insisted that they go without her while she went and did something she forgot to take care of, but requested they call her if anything happened. When they sat down, another voice that was familiar to all asked them what they would have. Sakura Kinamoto looked up to see it was her older brother, Toya. Toya looked from Sakura Kinamoto and Syaoran Li, to Princess Sakura and Syaoran Kinamoto, then back at Sakura Kinamoto and Syaoran Li and said "You really are a monster aren't you?" "I told you not to call me that!" Sakura Kinamoto scolded. Then, Yukito walked up behind him and said, "Toya, why are you always so mean to her." "Ni-sama and Yukito-san are the same here too." said Princess Sakura. Syaoran Kinamoto nodded in acknowledgement. Princess Sakura thought back to one of her old memories. She couldn't remember where she had been because she was with Syaoran Kinamoto, but she was sneaking home when Toya spotted her. She couldn't remember what he said to her, because he had been insulting Syaoran Kinamoto, but what Princess Sakura could remember was that he had said something that made her very angry, and then High Priest Yukito walked in and asked why he was so mean to her. Just as this Yukito had done for Sakura Kinamoto.

Elsewhere, a mysterious man and woman watched the group through some type of magic mirror. "Now isn't that interesting." said the woman. "They were bound to find others like themselves eventually." said the man. But the only one we need to be concerned about is him." The man looked at another room, but with the door closed, it was impossible to know what was in there.

Atashi was also watching the group closely. He held out his hand and a pink glow emanated out of nothing. Then, a feather with strange markings on it materialized out of the glow. "So that is the girl whom this feather belongs to." he said. "This could work out better than I thought."

The group kept searching until it got dark out. They decided to go back to the park where Mokona first felt the feather, and Tomoyo met them there with new costumes. For Syaoran Kinamoto, Tomoyo made an exact duplicate of Syaoran Li's ceremonial robes. And for the two Sakura's, she made identical silver costumes with light green timings and a vine-like pattern of the same green, and jackets with the same silver color and the same light-green trimmings. While Tomoyo got a group shot of the four, Mokona opened his eyes and said "Meko! Mokona senses a feather!" Just as Mokona sensed the feather, Sakura Kinamoto, Syaoran Li and Kero sensed something different. "Syaoran, that's Atashi's presence." said Sakura Kinamoto. "He must have the Princesses feather." said Syaoran Li. "Who's Atashi?" asked Syaoran Kinamoto. Just then, the cry of a large bird was heard overhead. "Ten to one says he's the one who sent that large bird." said Fai. Sakura Kinamoto released the star wand and Syaoran Li got out his sword. Sakura Kinamoto and Syaoran Li then used THE FLY card and flew up to confront the bird. Sakura Kinamoto noticed a small glow from the bird's right wing. "Syaoran, I see the feather." she pointed out. "I'll distract the bird while you get the feather." "Be careful Sakura." said Syaoran Li.

Unable to sit back and do nothing, Syaoran Kinamoto asked Kero to transform and fly him up to help. "Mokona, I need Hien." said Syaoran Kinamoto. Mokona opened his moth and a sword popped out. Syaoran Kinamoto grabbed the sword and got on Keroberos. As Syaoran Kinamoto and Keroberos flew up to help, Syaoran Li managed to get the feather from the bird and flew over to them. Syaoran Li handed the feather to Syaoran Kinamoto, and then turned around to help Sakura,

The bird was closing in fast on Sakura Kinamoto. Sakura Kinamoto got ready to use a SAKURA CARD, but the bird shot at her with a beam of dark red light and knocked the star wand out of her hand. Sakura Kinamoto flew after her wand, but the bird shot another beam and hit her left wing, deactivating THE FLY card. The bird then flew beneath Sakura Kinamoto, caught her, and carried her away. "SAKURA!" cried Syaoran Li. Knowing she couldn't use the cars without her wand, Sakura Kinamoto took the bag she had her cards in and threw it to Syaoran Li. Syaoran Li caught the bag and used THE WINDY card to try and catch the bird, but the card spirit was not fast enough. Syaoran Kinamoto got out Hien and swung it at the bird. Flames emitted out of the sword and flew strait at the bird, but the flames died out before they could reach. The bird let out a loud cry and in another beam of dark red light, created a dark portal. Syaoran Li used THE DASH card to speed up and tried to catch the bird, but he was too late. The bird flew through the portal before Syaoran Li could get to it. At first, Syaoran Li was silent with disbelief, then he screamed, "SAKURA!!!"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 14

As Keroberos and the two Syaoran's came down to join the others, Princess Sakura and Meilin rushed over to make sure they were alright. Even though Syaoran Li did not answer, Meilin found her answer in his eyes. He was not hurt, but he was far from OK. "He, come on," Meilin encouraged him, "instead of just standing there feeling sorry for yourself, you need to be thinking about how we can save Kinamoto. Do you think she'll be able to save herself? She's counting on you to pull yourself together and figure something out." Knowing she was right, Syaoran Li cheered himself up. Hoping to lighten the mood a bit, Fai reminded Syaoran Kinamoto about Princess Sakura's feather. Syaoran Kinamoto got the feather out and motioned to give it to Princess Sakura, but she stopped him. "I always fall asleep when I take a feather." she told him. "I want to stay awake and do what ever it is I can to help. We are the same person after all. I know I don't have any magic or special skills, but I wasn't to help." Keroberos transformed back into his disguised form and flew up to Princess Sakura with the star key. "Actually, you might be able to help after all." He told her. "I can sense magic in you. It's not as great as Sakura's, but it might be enough if you use the star wand and SAKURA CARDS." "But the wand and cards only listen to their master." Syaoran Li pointed out. "That's true," Kero continued, "but the contract was made with 'Sakura'. It doesn't know there are two of her. It's a long shot, but I think it will work." Princess Sakura decided to give it a try. Kero gave her the star key and she recited the RELEASE spell. "Key which hides the power of the stars, show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. RELEASE!" Just as Kero predicted, Princess Sakura was able to use the star wand. Kero then took Princess Sakura to the side and taught her about how to use the cards.

While Kero taught Princess Sakura how to use the cards, Tomoyo went to try and find Yukito so that Yue could help them. Then, Kurogane said something discreetly to Syaoran Li. "You should listen to what that girl said." Kurogane said. "If you worry too much about what has already happened, you lose sight of what is ahead. The past is behind you, but the future is always waiting." _Kurogane-san truly is a kind person_, Syaoran Kinamoto thought to himself, having overheard what Kurogane had said. Then something caused Kero to scream. Princess Sakura had tried out THE WATERY card and it had attacked Kero. Syaoran Kinamoto ran up to Princess Sakura to make sure she was ok, and Kero complained that no one seemed to worry about the fact that he had been on the receiving end of the attack card. After Tomoyo returned with Yue, and Princess Sakura had finished her crash course in using the SAKURA CARDS, they all got ready to find Sakura Kinamoto. Keroberos had been able to sense where she was, and Princess Sakura used the float card to carry anyone who could not fly on their own.

Meanwhile, Sakura Kinamoto woke up and found herself in a dark and empty room. At first she thought she was alone, but then she heard Atashi's voice behind her. "So your finally awake." he said. Once she realized what had happened, Sakura got up and faced Atashi. "If you're wondering why you're still alive, it's quite simple. It is much less painful to die in ones sleep than to experience it with your full consciousness." Atashi began his attack. Sakura did her best to avoid his attacks, but her efforts were fruitless. Just when it seamed as though Sakura could not take anymore, THE SHEILD card was activated and defended her from Atashi's final attack. Atashi looked around and saw the Princess and the others. Tomoyo, Mokona and Princess Sakura ran over to Sakura Kinamoto while the others confronted Atashi. Princess Sakura helped Sakura Kinamoto up and offered her her remaining powers. "It's not much, but I think you would be able to help more than I can." she insisted. Sakura Kinamoto accepted Princess Sakura's offer and took what power the Princess could spare. Drained of her power, Princess Sakura feinted. It was only enough to get Sakura Kinamoto to half strength, but It would have to do. "Tomoyo, take care of the Princess." said Sakura Kinamoto. Tomoyo said she would, and Mokona said he would take care of both of them.

Sakura instantly came up with a plan and with just one look, Syaoran Li knew what she had in mind. While the others did not know what Sakura had planed, they could also tell that she and Syaoran Li at least had a plan and backed off from their attack. Sakura and Syaoran Li used THE DASH card and began running circles, in opposite directions, around Atashi. Sakura used THE THUNDER card, and Syaoran Li used a thunder spell scroll. Both attacks hit and a cloud of dust surrounded the area where Atashi once stood. Sakura and Syaoran Li stopped running and pondered at whether Atashi was really gone. Suddenly, a beam of dark light came out of the dust cloud and was headed right for Sakura. In a gut reaction, Syaoran Li stepped in front of her and took the blast. "**SYAORAN!!!**" Sakura screamed. She caught Syaoran Li and lowered him to the ground. He just lied there, motionless, in her arms. Sakura cried uncontrollably. She could not believe this was happening. _Is this what my dream was warning me about? _She thought to herself. _Why? Why dose this have to happen? To die protecting me? It's not fair. It's just not fair! Syaoran!_

Syaoran Kinamoto was also upset, but in a different way. He was angry. Allowing his anger to get the better of him, Syaoran Kinamoto charged at Atashi with his sword. Syaoran put up a good front, but he was not much of a match against Atashi. Kurogane joined in on the fight, and was followed my Keroberos and Yue. Meilin stayed back, as she was just as shocked as Sakura staring at her dearest cousin. However, even the combined strength of Syaoran, Kurogane, Fai, Keroberos and Yue could only last a few minutes against Atashi. He was just too powerful.

Elsewhere, the same man and woman who had been watching them earlier that same day grew nervous at how they had been faring. "They appear to be loosing." said the woman. "I can see that." said the man. "Well? Should I wake him?" asked the woman. "Yes." replied the man. They both got up and walked into the next room. The room was empty, all except for a tank. Inside the tank was a teenage boy. A closer look identified the boy to be Syaoran. He was dressed in strange clothing, much different than what Syaoran Kinamoto wore, and he had a patch over his right eye. Suddenly, he his left eye opened.

Back at the fight, a sudden pain came across Syaoran's left eye. Then, Syaoran went into a trance-like state. Kurogane noticed this and began to worry. He had seen this before. "Hey, what's wrong with Syaoran?" asked Mokona. This caught everyone else's attention and they began to watch him. Even Sakura looked up to see what it was that Mokona was talking about. Syaoran charged at Atashi once more, seeming otherwise emotionless. "This happened once before." said Kurogane. "When we were in the country of Lacourt. We were trying to get a feather away from a sphinx. At first, he said we should not harm the beast because it was trying to protect something precious to that country. Then, this happened and he became a completely different person. He defeated the beast with a single kick, then just woke up as if nothing had happened. I doubt if he even has a clue about what he dose when this happens, or if he even knows that this happens at all." As disturbing as Kurogane's news was, Syaoran was doing excellently against Atashi. He gave Atashi a few kicks, then slashed him with Hien. That was all it took for Atashi to fall to the ground at Syaoran's feet. He was dead. With the fight over, Syaoran also fell, but he was only unconscious. Kurogane walked over to Syaoran, threw him over his shoulder, and made the others promise not to tell him.

As they walked out of Atashi's hideout, Kurogane carried Syaoran Kinamoto, Yue took Syaoran Li, and Kero, the Princess. All three were set on the ground as the others waited for them to wake up. Princess Sakura was the first to awaken, then later, Syaoran Kinamoto. But Syaoran Li had still yet to awaken. It seemed as if he had meet the same fate as Atashi. Sakura Kinamoto began to cry once more as Tomoyo comforted her. Quiet tears formed in the eyes of the others, and even Kurogane and Yue showed sadness, despite trying to hide it. Sakura Kinamoto ran over to him and held him gently in her arms. "Why?" she said quietly. "Why did this have to happen? Why Syaoran. And he promised. He promised we would get through this together." Overwhelming sadness stopped her from anything else. But then, she heard a voice saying, "You're right." Sakura Kinamoto opened her eyes to see that Syaoran Li had also opened his. "I did promise." New tears formed in Sakura Kinamoto's eyes. Not tears of sadness, but tears of happiness and joy. He was alive. Syaoran Li was alive. Sakura was so glad, she gave him the biggest hug she could. "Syaoran. I'm so glad."

After a good night's sleep, the Cardcaptor group said good bye to the Tsubasa group. Sakura Kinamoto walked up to Princess Sakura and said, "I hope you find what you said you were looking for." Princess Sakura nodded her head in reply. "Well, we should probably be going now." said Fai. "Take care." said Syaoran Li. "You too." said Syaoran Kinamoto. Mokona flew up in the air and said "Mokona Modoki can't wait! Kaapuuu!" and with that, they were gone. "So what was it the Princess said she was looking for?" asked Meilin. "Another feather?" Sakura smiled and said "You could say that."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 15

Sakura, Syaoran and Tomoyo decided to spend their last day of break shopping for supplies they would need for the new school year. "I hope were in the same class again." said Sakura. Tomoyo stopped and grabbed Sakura's hands. "Will you please meet me early in the morning before school?" she asked energetically. When Sakura asked why, Tomoyo's eyes sparkled as she replied "I want the chance to film you in your new uniform. Entering middle school, we'll have to wear different uniforms, and I just have to film you in it before classes start!" Embarrassed, Sakura tried to say something, but all she could muster was "T-Tomoyo…" Just then, something like a small bark was heard from behind. They turned around to see a Chihuahua puppy with long, light brown hair, and brown eyes. "Cutie!" said Sakura as she bent down to pet the puppy. This time the stars were in her eyes. "But what's a puppy doing in the city alone?" asked Syaoran. "She must be a stray." said Tomoyo. Sakura now looked depressed. "It's too bad there's not an animal shelter around here." Sakura said. "And I don't know if my dad will let me have a pet." Tomoyo and Syaoran nodded. The Li family had strict rules against pets, and one of Tomoyo's maids was allergic to dogs. Sakura wished the puppy luck, then she and her friends continued with their shopping.

When Sakura returned home from shopping, her father greeted her at the door. "Oh, Sakura," he said questioningly. "What is the behind you?" Sakura turned around and saw the Chihuahua puppy from before. Sakura panicked and immediately told her father that she did not bring the puppy home. Her words began to garble, then Fujitaka interrupted her saying, "Would you like to keep her?" Sakura was caught off guard. She was sure her father would scold her for brining home a stray animal. Then she realized that only Toya would have done this. "Can I?!" she asked excitedly. Fujitaka said she could, but she would have to take care of it and put up posters incase the puppy had owners who were looking for her. Sakura agreed to his terms and took the puppy up to her room.

"Kero, Kero guess what!" she said excitedly as she ran into her room. "If it's about you and the kid, I don't want to know." he said, immersed in his video game. In response to his rude comment, Sakura set the puppy in front of Kero. His reaction was more intense than expected. Kero jumped into the air and flew to the other side of the room. "**WHAT IS THAT THING**!?!" he panicked. Sakura giggled and said "She's not a thing, she's a puppy. I found her this morning when I was shopping with Syaoran and Tomoyo, and when she followed me home dad said I could keep her." "Sakura, please tell me this is some sort of joke!" Kero pleaded, his voice still panic stricken. "I think I'll call her Blossom." Sakura giggled, completely ignoring Kero. Despite Kero's freaked out protests, Sakura had already made up her mind that she would keep the puppy, now named Blossom.

With a few hours to kill before dinner, Sakura decided to take Blossom out for a bit. She bought her a collar and a leash and was now searching for dog food. Suddenly, Blossom started sniffing the air, as if she smelled something she recognized. Despite her small size, Blossom managed to drag Sakura around the corner of a nearby building, and Sakura crashed into a person. The person grabbed Sakura by the hand to keep her from falling. "I'm sorry, I lost control of my dog and…" Sakura stopped when she opened her eyes and noticed the person she had bumped into was Syaoran. "I thought you said your dad wouldn't let you have a dog." he said, recognizing Blossom to be the puppy from earlier that morning. When her racing mind finally caught up to the present, Sakura told Syaoran that she had been wrong. Blossom began nuzzling Syaoran's ankle. Sakura looked down at the adorable sight and then noticed Syaoran had a grocery bag. Apparently Wei had asked him to get some ingredients he was missing for dinner.

Syaoran still had a few things to get, so Sakura decided she and Blossom would accompany him. Unfortunately, the store he needed to go in would not allow dogs, so Sakura and Blossom sat outside and waited for him. As they waited, a woman with long, ruby red hair that curled at the end, bright red eyes, and a dark trench coat that fit her form well, walked up and asked Sakura about the puppy. "She's very cute." said the woman. "Thanks," Sakura replied, "her name is Blossom." "Did you know that the Chihuahua is a decedent of the Techichi?" asked the woman. "Techichi were said to be worshiped in ancient times. Some believed they had strange powers. Of course, that's just a myth, but sometimes myths have a way of taking new life in other legends." The woman had a suspicious grin on her face, then, she suddenly tried to take Blossom's leash from Sakura. "What are you doing?!" said Sakura as she struggled to keep hold of the leash. "Give me that dog!" the woman demanded. Sakura managed to take the leash back, then she picked up Blossom and ran. Determined to take Blossom, the woman ran after Sakura. Syaoran saw the seen and ran after them as well.

Sakura ran as fast as she could, and it seemed as if she was faster. Then Sakura heard the woman chanting something and instantly recognized it to be magic. She turned on to an empty street and began enchanting the spell to release the star wand. "Key which hides the power of the stars, show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. RELEASE!" The woman finished her incantation as well and summoned a monster. The monster looked feminine, but in a monstrous sort of way, and appeared to be of the stone element. Sakura got out THE SWORD card and prepared to defend herself. Sakura rushed at the rock monster and swung her sword, but she missed and was hit, causing her to loosen her grip on Blossom, and was knocked against the wall of a surrounding building, unconscious. The monster prepared another attack, but was blocked by Syaoran and THE SHEILD card. Syaoran ran up to Sakura to make sure she was alright. Other than a small bump on the head, she was fine. Syaoran turned to the monster and the woman as Blossom licked Sakura's face in an attempt to awaken her new master. Knowing that his sword was not strong enough, Syaoran took the deactivated SWORD card and used it himself. With the stronger sword, Syaoran sliced the rock monster in half with ease. Just as he had done this, Blossom succeeded in waking Sakura up. "The Zodiac powers will be mine!" the woman declared. Irritated, and desperate to escape and recollect her self, she lifted her hand and waved it, emitting a sickle like blade of energy that went just over Syaoran's head. Syaoran was about to comment on her bad aim, but then realized she was not aiming for him. The building that Sakura had been leaning on began to crumble. Before Syaoran could do anything, Sakura grabbed hold of Blossom as tight as she could as she was buried beneath the rubble. "Sakura!" Syaoran cried as he rushed over to dig her out. The woman took this opportunity and ran for it. Syaoran tried desperately to remove the ruble from Sakura. When Syaoran got the last of it off, he was surprised to find that Sakura was OK. More than that, she didn't have a scratch on her. Syaoran was relieved she was ok, but this, as well as what the woman had said seemed to trouble him. "Sakura," he said in a serious tone, "can you and Keroberos come by my place tomorrow after school? Yue as well?" Sakura said she and Kero would be there, and that she would call Yukito when she got home. Syaoran took Sakura and Blossom home, an then went back to repurchase the items he had lost during the fight.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 16

The next day at school, thing seemed to go peacefully. Sakura was happy to find that not only was she still in the same class as Syaoran and Tomoyo, but Rika, Naoko, Chiharu and Yamazaki were also in her class again. However, this was little comfort with what had happened the other day. Aside from the fact that some strange woman was after her new puppy, Blossom, she had been buried by a collapsing building and made it out without a scratch. Why wasn't she crushed by the building? Is this what Syaoran wanted to talk to her, Kero, and Yue about? These thoughts filled Sakura's mind and remained unanswered until that night after school.

By the time Sakura, Kero and Blossom got to Syaoran's house, Yue was already there waiting for them. Syaoran decided to get right to business. He took a book from his desk and opened it to the book marked page. "As Sakura probably already told you," he began, "There is some strange woman after Blossom. Also, Sakura was almost crushed by a collapsing building, but she was not hurt at all. I think Blossom is the cause of that. Before she left, the woman said she was after the Zodiac powers. I remembered reading about them once, but I wasn't sure until I found this book. The Zodiac powers are said to reside in the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac, each one with it's own unique ability. It also says that if the powers were to be taken from the animals, the animals would turn into dark creatures." "That's terrible." said Sakura, "What if Blossom turns into one of those creatures?!" "Clow Reed left behind a spell to change them back," Syaoran continued, "But it's in some kind of ancient writing. I should be able to translate it, but it'll take some time." "So what is the power of the dog?" Yue asked. "Invincibility." answered Syaoran. "You see Sakura?!" said Kero in a slightly freaked voice. "I told you to get rid of that thing!" "She's not a thing Kero, she's a dog!" Sakura scolded. "IT is a monster!" said Kero. "SHE will only become a monster if she looses her power, and even then, all I have to do is use Clow Reed's spell." Sakura pointed out. Kero continued his protests. "I don't think it's Blossom's Zodiac powers that Keroberos is worried about." Syaoran said in sort of a teasing type of voice. "I think you're afraid of her." "Me?!" said Kero in a slightly braver voice. "Afraid of that mutt?! Dream on kid." Syaoran held Blossom to Kero's face and dare him to pet her. Kero let out a little girl's scream and jumped into the corner. "I knew it, you are afraid of her." Syaoran laughed. Kero flew back and insisted he was just startled. Kero closed his eyes and crossed his arms as he said "I can't believe you would think I, Keroberos, the beast of the seal, would be afraid of that little mutt." Syaoran held Blossom close to Kero again, who gave Kero a friendly puppy kiss, and dully said "Boo," and with another little girl's scream, Kero flew across the room again "Wait till I tell Meilin!" Syaoran laughed. Kero was about to threaten him, but Syaoran just shoved Blossom back in his face. This went on for hours, as Sakura and Yue just watched, until Sakura had to go home.

As Sakura walked Blossom on the leash, Kero was inside Sakura's back pack, growling at how he supposedly was not afraid of the puppy. Sakura just giggled at the thought of how it would look if Kero had been in his true form while they were at Syaoran's. She had to admit, the thought of someone as big as Keroberos being afraid of a little Chihuahua puppy was pretty entertaining. Suddenly, Blossom began growling. It was not that scary, actually kind of cute, but it scared the crud out of Kero just the same. "S-S-S-Sa-Sa-Saku-Sakura w-wh-wh-why –i-is-is i-i-i-it d-d-do-do-doi-doi-doing th-th-th-tha-tha-that?!" he stuttered, his face completely white. Kero was too scared to notice, but Sakura and Blossom could both sense the woman from the day before. Sakura ran for a place away from people and released the star wand. As she did so, the strange woman appeared once more. "Give me that dog." she demanded. "No!" said Sakura, "I'm not gonna let you take Blossom's Zodiac powers and turn her into a monster." The woman chanted another spell and summoned a new monster as she had done last time. Except this time, the element was wood. Kero had already gotten out of Sakura's back pack and transformed into his true form, and was now on the attack. While the monster kept Keroberos busy, the woman made an advancement on Sakura and Blossom. Sakura did her best to protect Blossom, but the woman over powered her. With another spell that Sakura was still unable to make out, the woman started draining Blossom of her power. Sakura tried to stop her, but it was too late. "The power of invincibility is mine!" the woman declared. "Have fun with your new friend." she said as she left.

Sakura watched in horror as her beloved new puppy transformed into a hideous werewolf looking creature. Blossom let out an ear piercing howl, which was much more terrifying than the cute little growl she had before. Keroberos left his old prey and went after Blossom. No longer the cute, friendly puppy Sakura had adopted, Blossom swung one of her giant paws at Keroberos and knocked him to the ground, and caused him to revert back to his disguised form. "Kero!" Sakura screamed. She wanted so bad to help him, but she did not feel right about attacking her sweet little puppy. Her other instinct was to run, but she could not leave Blossom this way. Not waiting for Sakura to make up her mind, Blossom went on the attack. Sakura used THE JUMP card to doge, but she still had trouble keeping away. With another swing of her paw, Blossom knocked Sakura out of the air. Sakura's fall was broken when a familiar voice called out "Petals of the wind, answer my call!" and she was caught by a sudden gust of wind. Syaoran ran up to Sakura to make sure she was safe. "I'm sorry I'm late" he told her. Sakura shook her head and told him it was fine. "Did you finish it?" she asked. Syaoran handed her a piece of paper with writing on it. "Just say this spell, and do everything else the way you would capture a CLOW CARD." Syaoran instructed. Sakura walked up to Blossom, raised her star wand, and said "Return to your original animal form. Dog!" Blossom was enveloped in a bright light, and as it faded, she turned back into a dog. The same cute, cuddly puppy Sakura had grown so fond of. Blossom ran into Sakura's arms and smothered her in puppy kisses. But then, Sakura remembered the other threat, the monster that the mysterious woman had summoned. But when she got up to face it, it was already gone. Then Sakura remembered Kero, who was already starting to wake up. As soon as he was up, Kero sprang up into the air and said "Alright where is it. Sakura's pet or not, no one endangers Sakura!" Syaoran grabbed Blossom and held her in front of Kero's face and said "Boo." Kero let out another terrified, little girl's scream, then complained about how that was not funny as Sakura and Syaoran laughed. "Kero, it's alright." Sakura said, trying her best to maintain her giggles. "Blossom's back to normal." "There is nothing normal about it!" said Kero, still freaked. "There is now," said Syaoran. "Without the Zodiac powers, Blossom's just an ordinary puppy now." "But," said Sakura, "What about the others?" "What do you mean?" asked Kero. I mean the other animals." Sakura continued. I'm sure that woman will try to go after the other eleven animals with powers from the zodiac. It would cause a lot of trouble if they were to wreck havoc after loosing there powers. And I want to help them." "But Sakura, there have to be millions of animals in the world that match the animals of the Chinese Zodiac." Kero protested. "Actually, all the members of the Zodiac are supposed to stay pretty close to each other." said Syaoran. "All we have to do is find out where each one is before that woman dose. And we can use that opportunity to try and stop her." Kero protested a bit more, but finally gave up by the end of the night, when Sakura fell asleep.


	19. Sakura's New Puppy

Sakura, Syaoran and Tomoyo decided to spend their last day of break shopping for supplies they would need for the new school year. "I hope we're in the same class again." said Sakura. Tomoyo stopped and grabbed Sakura's hands. "Will you please meet me early in the morning before school?" she asked energetically. When Sakura asked why, Tomoyo's eyes sparkled as she replied "I want the chance to film you in your new uniform. Entering middle school, we'll have to wear different uniforms, and I just have to film you in it before classes start!" Embarrassed, Sakura tried to say something, but all she could muster was "T-Tomoyo…" Just then, something like a small bark was heard from behind. They turned around to see a Chihuahua puppy with long, light brown hair, and brown eyes. "Cutie!" said Sakura as she bent down to pet the puppy. This time the stars were in her eyes. "But what's a puppy doing in the city alone?" asked Syaoran. "She must be a stray." said Tomoyo. Sakura now looked depressed. "It's too bad there's not an animal shelter around here." Sakura said. "And I don't know if my dad will let me have a pet." Tomoyo and Syaoran nodded. The Li family had strict rules against pets, and one of Tomoyo's maids was allergic to dogs. Sakura wished the puppy luck, then she and her friends continued with their shopping.  
When Sakura returned home from shopping, her father greeted her at the door. "Oh, Sakura," he said questioningly. "What is the behind you?" Sakura turned around and saw the Chihuahua puppy from before. Sakura panicked and immediately told her father that she did not bring the puppy home. Her words began to garble, then Fujitaka interrupted her saying, "Would you like to keep her?" Sakura was caught off guard. She was sure her father would scold her for brining home a stray animal. Then she realized that only Toya would have done this. "Can I?" she asked excitedly. Fujitaka said she could, but she would have to take care of it and put up posters incase the puppy had owners who were looking for her. Sakura agreed to his terms and took the puppy up to her room.  
"Kero, Kero guess what!" she said excitedly as she ran into her room. "If it's about you and the kid, I don't want to know." he said, immersed in his video game. In response to his rude comment, Sakura set the puppy in front of Kero. His reaction was more intense than expected. Kero jumped into the air and flew to the other side of the room. "WHAT IS THAT THING!" he panicked. Sakura giggled and said "She's not a thing, she's a puppy. I found her this morning when I was shopping with Syaoran and Tomoyo, and when she followed me home dad said I could keep her." "Sakura, please tell me this is some sort of joke!" Kero pleaded, his voice still panic stricken. "I think I'll call her Blossom." Sakura giggled, completely ignoring Kero. Despite Kero's freaked out protests, Sakura had already made up her mind that she would keep the puppy, now named Blossom.  
With a few hours to kill before dinner, Sakura decided to take Blossom out for a bit. She bought her a collar and a leash and was now searching for dog food. Suddenly, Blossom started sniffing the air, as if she smelled something she recognized. Despite her small size, Blossom managed to drag Sakura around the corner of a nearby building, and Sakura crashed into a person. The person grabbed Sakura by the hand to keep her from falling. "I'm sorry, I lost control of my dog and…" Sakura stopped when she opened her eyes and noticed the person she had bumped into was Syaoran. "I thought you said your dad wouldn't let you have a dog." he said, recognizing Blossom to be the puppy from earlier that morning. When her racing mind finally caught up to the present, Sakura told Syaoran that she had been wrong. Blossom began nuzzling Syaoran's ankle. Sakura looked down at the adorable sight and then noticed Syaoran had a grocery bag. Apparently Wei had asked him to get some ingredients he was missing for dinner.  
Syaoran still had a few things to get, so Sakura decided she and Blossom would accompany him. Unfortunately, the store he needed to go in would not allow dogs, so Sakura and Blossom sat outside and waited for him. As they waited, a woman with long, ruby red hair that curled at the end, bright red eyes hidden by sun glasses, and a dark trench coat that fit her form well, walked up and asked Sakura about the puppy. "She's very cute." said the woman. "Thanks," Sakura replied, "her name is Blossom." "Did you know that the Chihuahua is a decedent of the Techichi?" asked the woman. "Techichi were said to be worshiped in ancient times. Some believed they had strange powers. Of course, that's just a myth, but sometimes myths have a way of taking new life in other legends." The woman had a suspicious grin on her face, then, she suddenly tried to take Blossom's leash from Sakura. "What are you doing?" said Sakura as she struggled to keep hold of the leash. "Give me that dog!" the woman demanded. Sakura managed to take the leash back, then she picked up Blossom and ran. Determined to take Blossom, the woman ran after Sakura. Syaoran saw the seen and ran after them as well.  
Sakura ran as fast as she could, and it seemed as if she was faster. Then Sakura heard the woman chanting something and instantly recognized it to be magic. She turned on to an empty street and began enchanting the spell to release the star wand. "Key which hides the power of the stars, show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. RELEASE!" The woman finished her incantation as well and summoned a monster. The monster looked feminine, but in a monstrous sort of way, and appeared to be of the stone element. Sakura got out the SWORD card and prepared to defend herself. Sakura rushed at the rock monster and swung her sword, but she missed and was hit, causing her to loosen her grip on Blossom, and was knocked against the wall of a surrounding building, unconscious. The monster prepared another attack, but was blocked by Syaoran and the SHEILD card. Syaoran ran up to Sakura to make sure she was alright. Other than a small bump on the head, she was fine. Syaoran turned to the monster and the woman as Blossom licked Sakura's face in an attempt to awaken her new master. Knowing that his sword was not strong enough, Syaoran took the deactivated SWORD card and used it himself. With the stronger sword, Syaoran sliced the rock monster in half with ease. Just as he had done this, Blossom succeeded in waking Sakura up. "The Zodiac powers will be mine!" the woman declared. Irritated, and desperate to escape and recollect her self, she lifted her hand and waved it, emitting a sickle like blade of energy that went just over Syaoran's head. Syaoran was about to comment on her bad aim, but then realized she was not aiming for him. The building that Sakura had been leaning on began to crumble. Before Syaoran could do anything, Sakura grabbed hold of Blossom as tight as she could as she was buried beneath the rubble. "Sakura!" Syaoran cried as he rushed over to dig her out. The woman took this opportunity and ran for it. Syaoran tried desperately to remove the ruble from Sakura. When Syaoran got the last of it off, he was surprised to find that Sakura was OK. More than that, she didn't have a scratch on her. Syaoran was relieved she was ok, but this, as well as what the woman had said seemed to trouble him. "Sakura," he said in a serious tone, "can you and Keroberos come by my place tomorrow after school? Yue as well?" Sakura said she and Kero would be there, and that she would call Yukito when she got home. Syaoran took Sakura and Blossom home, an then went back to repurchase the items he had lost during the fight.


	20. Sakura's New Mission

The next day at school, thing seemed to go peacefully. Sakura was happy to find that not only was she still in the same class as Syaoran and Tomoyo, but Rika, Naoko, Chiharu and Takashi were also in her class again. However, this was little comfort with what had happened the other day. Aside from the fact that some strange woman was after her new puppy, Blossom, she had been buried by a collapsing building and made it out without a scratch. Why wasn't she crushed by the building? Is this what Syaoran wanted to talk to her, Kero, and Yue about? These thoughts filled Sakura's mind and remained unanswered until that night after school.  
By the time Sakura, Kero and Blossom got to Syaoran's house, Yue was already there waiting for them. Syaoran decided to get right to business. He took a book from his desk and opened it to the book marked page. "As Sakura probably already told you," he began, "There is some strange woman after Blossom. Also, Sakura was almost crushed by a collapsing building, but she was not hurt at all. I think Blossom is the cause of that. Before she left, the woman said she was after the Zodiac powers. I remembered reading about them once, but I wasn't sure until I found this book. The Zodiac powers are said to reside in the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac, each one with it's own unique ability. It also says that if the powers were to be taken from the animals, the animals would turn into dark creatures." "That's terrible." said Sakura, "What if Blossom turns into one of those creatures?" "Clow Reed left behind a spell to change them back," Syaoran continued, "But it's in some kind of ancient writing. I should be able to translate it, but it'll take some time." "So what is the power of the dog?" Yue asked. "Invincibility." answered Syaoran. "You see Sakura?" said Kero in a slightly freaked voice. "I told you to get rid of that thing!" "She's not a thing Kero, she's a dog!" Sakura scolded. "IT is a monster!" said Kero. "SHE will only become a monster if she looses her power, and even then, all I have to do is use Clow Reed's spell." Sakura pointed out. Kero continued his protests. "I don't think it's Blossom's Zodiac powers that Keroberos is worried about." Syaoran said in sort of a teasing type of voice. "I think you're afraid of her." "Me?" said Kero in a slightly braver voice. "Afraid of that mutt? Dream on kid." Syaoran held Blossom to Kero's face and dare him to pet her. Kero let out a little girl's scream and jumped into the corner. "I knew it, you are afraid of her." Syaoran laughed. Kero flew back and insisted he was just startled. Kero closed his eyes and crossed his arms as he said "I can't believe you would think I, Keroberos, the beast of the seal, would be afraid of that little mutt." Syaoran held Blossom close to Kero again, who gave Kero a friendly puppy kiss, and dully said "Boo," and with another little girl's scream, Kero flew across the room again "Wait till I tell Meilin!" Syaoran laughed. Kero was about to threaten him, but Syaoran just shoved Blossom back in his face. This went on for hours, as Sakura and Yue just watched, until Sakura had to go home.  
As Sakura walked Blossom on the leash, Kero was inside Sakura's back pack, growling at how he supposedly was not afraid of the puppy. Sakura just giggled at the thought of how it would look if Kero had been in his true form while they were at Syaoran's. She had to admit, the thought of someone as big as Keroberos being afraid of a little Chihuahua puppy was pretty entertaining. Suddenly, Blossom began growling. It was not that scary, actually kind of cute, but it scared the crud out of Kero just the same. "S-S-S-Sa-Sa-Saku-Sakura w-wh-wh-why –i-is-is i-i-i-it d-d-do-do-doi-doi-doing th-th-th-tha-tha-that?" he stuttered, his face completely white. Kero was too scared to notice, but Sakura and Blossom could both sense the woman from the day before. Sakura ran for a place away from people and released the star wand. As she did so, the strange woman appeared once more. "Give me that dog." she demanded. "No!" said Sakura, "I'm not gonna let you take Blossom's Zodiac powers and turn her into a monster." The woman chanted another spell and summoned a new monster as she had done last time. Except this time, the element was wood. Kero had already gotten out of Sakura's back pack and transformed into his true form, and was now on the attack. While the monster kept Keroberos busy, the woman made an advancement on Sakura and Blossom. Sakura did her best to protect Blossom, but the woman over powered her. With another spell that Sakura was still unable to make out, the woman started draining Blossom of her power. Sakura tried to stop her, but it was too late. "The power of invincibility is mine!" the woman declared. "Have fun with your new friend." she said as she left.  
Sakura watched in horror as her beloved new puppy transformed into a hideous werewolf looking creature. Blossom let out an ear piercing howl, which was much more terrifying than the cute little growl she had before. Keroberos left his old prey and went after Blossom. No longer the cute, friendly puppy Sakura had adopted, Blossom swung one of her giant paws at Keroberos and knocked him to the ground, and caused him to revert back to his disguised form. "Kero!" Sakura screamed. She wanted so bad to help him, but she did not feel right about attacking her sweet little puppy. Her other instinct was to run, but she could not leave Blossom this way. Not waiting for Sakura to make up her mind, Blossom went on the attack. Sakura used the JUMP card to doge, but she still had trouble keeping away. With another swing of her paw, Blossom knocked Sakura out of the air. Sakura's fall was broken when a familiar voice called out "Petals of the wind, answer my call!" and she was caught by a sudden gust of wind. Syaoran ran up to Sakura to make sure she was safe. "I'm sorry I'm late" he told her. Sakura shook her head and told him it was fine. "Did you finish it?" she asked. Syaoran handed her a piece of paper with writing on it. "Just say this spell, and do everything else the way you would capture a CLOW CARD." Syaoran instructed. Sakura walked up to Blossom, raised her star wand, and said "Return to your original animal form. Dog!" Blossom was enveloped in a bright light, and as it faded, she turned back into a dog. The same cute, cuddly puppy Sakura had grown so fond of. Blossom ran into Sakura's arms and smothered her in puppy kisses. But then, Sakura remembered the other threat, the monster that the mysterious woman had summoned. But when she got up to face it, it was already gone. Then Sakura remembered Kero, who was already starting to wake up. As soon as he was up, Kero sprang up into the air and said "Alright where is it. Sakura's pet or not, no one endangers Sakura!" Syaoran grabbed Blossom and held her in front of Kero's face and said "Boo." Kero let out another terrified, little girl's scream, then complained about how that was not funny as Sakura and Syaoran laughed. "Kero, it's alright." Sakura said, trying her best to maintain her giggles. "Blossom's back to normal." "There is nothing normal about it!" said Kero, still freaked. "There is now," said Syaoran. "Without the Zodiac powers, Blossom's just an ordinary puppy now." "But," said Sakura, "What about the others?" "What do you mean?" asked Kero. I mean the other animals." Sakura continued. I'm sure that woman will try to go after the other eleven animals with powers from the zodiac. It would cause a lot of trouble if they were to wreck havoc after loosing there powers. And I want to help them." "But Sakura, there have to be millions of animals in the world that match the animals of the Chinese Zodiac." Kero protested. "Actually, all the members of the Zodiac are supposed to stay pretty close to each other." said Syaoran. "All we have to do is find out where each one is before that woman dose. And we can use that opportunity to try and stop her." Kero protested a bit more, but finally gave up by the end of the night, when Sakura fell asleep.


	21. Sakura's Ghostly Experience

"I'm leaving now."  
Sakura strapped on her skates and headed on her way to school. It was still early, but she had classroom chores with Chiharu that morning. On her way to school, Sakura thought about the day before, about Blossom and the other Zodiac Animals. Kero said that it would be difficult to find the other 11 animals, but Sakura wanted so much to help them.  
As she passed the park, Sakura noticed some men were setting up for some attraction. Then she noticed a presence that was similar to Blossom's. Sakura wanted to check it out, but decided it would be best to come back with Syaoran and the others.  
Not long after Sakura and Chiharu finished the classroom chores, Tomoyo came in the room. Sakura had called her the night before and told her about the strange woman and the Zodiac Animals.  
"Good morning Sakura."  
"Good morning Tomoyo."  
"Sakura did you hear, there is going to be a sheep show in the park. They start tomorrow."  
"So that's what that was."  
"Sakura, there was a sheep in the Chinese Zodiac, perhaps we should see if the one we are looking for is in the show."  
"You know, I did sense something when I passed the park this morning."  
"That must be it. We'll go with Li and Kero tomorrow after school. And if we do find something… I have the perfect costume for you to wear!"  
"T-Tomoyo…"

As planed, Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo and Kero went to the park the next day after school. Sakura's eyes gleamed as she saw all of the cute sheep. She ran up to the fence, and one of the sheep walked strait up to her. Sakura reached down to pet it, but backed off when she felt the same presence from the morning before. Syaoran sensed the presence as well.  
"This is it, the sheep from the Zodiac Legend."  
"Yea, her presence is the same as the one Blossom had."  
Syaoran looked around at the other people who had come to see the cute sheep. There were way too many of them to use magic. "Let's come back later tonight when there aren't so many people around."  
"OK."  
Little did the Cardcaptors know, they were not the only ones interested in this particular sheep. The strange woman, out of sight from them and the other people around them, was watching them and grinned. "I had a feeling those little goody-two-shoes would find the next animal before me. How interesting that the sheep would just walk up to that girl without a second thought. That mutt of hers must have done the same thing. I wonder… could she… this could be fun."

Later that night, the group went to the barn where the sheep were being held, this time accompanied by Yue. Sakura was wearing a fluffy costume with plastic horns that resembled that of a ram on the hat.  
Keroberos gave her a thoughtful look. "Well Sakura, we found the next animal, now what."  
"Umm, to be honest I really haven't thought that far ahead."  
"I see."  
The sheep once again walked up to Sakura, who began to pet it. Tomoyo filmed her as she did this, and looked over to Syaoran. "So, just what is the power of the sheep anyway?"  
"I believe it was 'Astro Projection'"  
"What dose that mean?"  
"It means your little friend there is going to be in a bit of trouble." The group turned around and saw the mysterious woman at the door of the barn. Sensing the danger, the sheep emitted a strong amount of magic. As it did this, Sakura collapsed onto the ground.  
"Sakura!"  
"What happened to her?"  
As the Cardcaptors ran over to Sakura, Syaoran Keroberos and Yue heard a panicked scream from above Sakura's body. They looked up and saw a second, see-through version of Sakura floating above the first.  
"Astro Projection," the woman explained, "is the temporary separation of the body and spirit."  
"Sakura's face turned pale. "Y-you mean I'm a… a…"  
"Sakura, calm down. All you have to do is get back into your body."  
"A-alright."  
As Sakura lowered herself down towards her body, the woman raised her hand and it glowed bright red. As she did this, Sakura's physical body glowed the same. When Sakura tried to reunite with her body, she was repelled back up in the air. The woman laughed. "did you really think I would allow you to return to your body so easy? I don't think so."  
Syaoran pulled out his sword and charged at the woman, followed by Keroberos and Yue. The woman evaded them and ran over to where Tomoyo, Sakura and the sheep where. As she ran, she chanted the same spell as before, and, just as she had done with Blossom, she stole the sheep's Zodiac power. Sakura watched in horror from above. "Tomoyo, get out of there!" Tomoyo could not see or hear Sakura's spirit self, but still grabbed Sakura's body and carried her to safety as the sheep transformed. The sheep's monster form was just as terrifying as Blossom's had been. As the woman fled, Syaoran and the others prepared to battle the transformed sheep. They were stoped, however, when Sakura asked them not to hurt it.  
"But, Sakura…"  
"Please, if I could just figure out a way to get back into my body, I'm sure I can change her back to normal."  
"Maybe if we could find a way to block that woman's magic…"  
"Syaoran, Tomoyo!" Syaoran looked over and saw the sheep was headed strait for Tomoyo and Sakura's body. Syaoran quickly used THE SHEILD card to protect them. This gave Sakura an idea. Sakura floated over to her body and tried once more to return to it. She lowered herself down, and a few seconds later, opened her eyes. "I did it, I'm back!" Sakura got out her key and released the star wand. "Return to your original animal form, Sheep!" The sheep shrank and returned to it's natural self. Keroberos began scolding Sakura about how dangerous this new mission had become. "But Kero, it turned out alright in the end, and just imagine how bad it could have been if we weren't here to change her back."  
"However, it seems we lost another of the Zodiac Powers."  
"Yea…"  
"But there is a bright side to that as well!"  
"Hoe?"  
"I was able to capture Sakura's ultra wonderful performance on film!"  
"T-Tomoyo…"


	22. Sakura's Big Challenge

"Cute!"  
"They are."  
"Yea." Sakura, Tomoyo, Chiharu, Naoko and Rika gazed affectionately at a pair of monkeys grooming themselves behind the bars of a cage at the zoo. There class was there on a field trip to study the animals there. The whole class had been separated into groups of 5, and Sakura's group was assigned to the monkeys. Suddenly, Sakura thought she noticed something about another of the monkeys in the cage.  
"Sakura, is something wrong?"  
"Huh? Oh, no it's nothing." Sakura looked back to where the monkey was, but it was gone. "Hoe?"

Meanwhile, in another part of the zoo, Syaoran, Yamizaki, and 3 other boys from there class were assigned to the pig pen. "Why did we have to get stuck with the pigs?"  
"Hey it beats the sloths we had to do in 4th grade."  
"True."  
Yamizaki's eyes lit up. "Speaking of pigs, did you know…"  
"There he goes again," said one of the boys to the side, as Syaoran got sucked into another of Yamizaki's lies, "Yamizaki's special attack."  
"I can't believe Li still believes them."  
"I know, him and Kinomoto seem to fall for them every time."  
"… and that's why they stay in the mud so much."  
"Really? I didn't know that."  
"It's true."  
"Hey Li, Yamizaki, why don't we get started on that report?"  
"Sure/Sure."  
The boys continued to study the pigs, but one of them seamed to stand out to Syaoran, as a rather unusual looking bird landed on it and leaned it's head towards the pig's ear. Syaoran thought that it looked as if the bird were whispering into the pig's ear, if that were possible.  
"Li, is something wrong?"  
"No, it's nothing." Syaoran looked back over to the pig and the bird, but they were gone.

Later on in the day, the class got back together for lunch break. Syaoran and Yamizaki joined Sakura's group, and Yamizaki was trying to get Sakura with the same lie he got Syaoran with.  
"… and that's why they stay in the mud so much."  
"Amazing."  
Chiharu got annoyed and started choking Yamizaki. "Yamizaki, why do you tell such lies?"  
"It was a lie?/It was a lie?" Suddenly, Sakura felt something cold and wet brush up against her leg. Sakura screamed, pulled her legs up, and grabbed onto Syaoran's shoulder.  
"What's wrong?"  
"T-there's something under the table!"  
Just then, two people walked up and pulled a pig and a monkey out from under the table. "Now how did you get out?"  
"T-Toya! What are you doing here?"  
"Work."  
"But it's a school day."  
"The colleges have the day off."  
"Yukito!"  
"Sakura, these animals seem to like you."  
"Perhaps it's because she eats like a pig and looks like a monkey."  
"**I DO NOT**!" Sakura tried to step on her brother's foot, but missed.  
"Toya, why do you always pick on her?"  
Toya ignored this and instead glared at Syaoran, who glared back. Sakura thought about what Yukito said about how it seamed like the pig and the monkey liked her, and then an idea popped into her head. She pulled Syaoran to the side and told him about it.

"You think that pig and monkey might be from the Zodiac?"  
"Yea, I mean, think about it, Blossom followed me home after we found her, and the sheep from the other say walked right up to me as well."  
"It would certainly make sense, but why would they just suddenly come to you?"  
"I don't know, maybe they know I want to help them. Maybe, I'm the only one who can."  
"Sakura, Li, lunch break is over, we have to get back!"  
"Coming!"  
"You have your phone with you right?"  
"Yes."  
"If anything unusual happens, call me."  
Yea, you two."

Sakura and Syaoran returned to their groups who went back to where they were assigned. The two animals in question had already been put back in their proper places by Toya and Yukito, who also suspected they were related to the Zodiac Legend.  
"It caused them some trouble the other day didn't it?"  
"According to Yue, yes."  
"And of course it means she's hanging around that KID more two."  
Yukito laughed. "Sister Complex."  
"SHUT UP!"

A few hours latter, Sakura and the other girls finally finished their report. Tomoyo was then startled by something she had seen from the right of them. "Sakura…"  
"What?"  
"Look…" Sakura looked in the direction Tomoyo was pointing at and saw the strange woman who was after the Zodiac Powers.  
"U- um, hey you guys, now that we're done, maybe we should go look around the zoo a bit."  
"That's a great idea."  
"I want to see those elephants again."  
"Yea."  
"You guys go on ahead."  
"? Are you sure?"  
"Yea, we'll meet up with you by the elephants."  
"Alright…"  
When the others were out of sight, Sakura and Tomoyo turned to face the woman, but she was nowhere to be found. While Tomoyo wondered about where she went, Sakura already knew. "The pig! Syaoran!"  
The boys had also finished their report when Syaoran's phone rang.  
"Hey, now that were done, what do you say we go meet the girls?"  
"You guys go on ahead. I'm gonna wait here a bit."  
"Huh, why?"  
"That was Sakura just now. She and Deidouji split up from the rest of their group, who went to check out the elephants, and Sakura wants to see these pigs."  
"Alright, see you later Li."  
"See ya." Once the boys were gone, Syaoran threw a couple of spell scrolls around to keep people from accidentally wandering there while they were using magic.  
"Well now, aren't you a smart little boy." Syaoran turned around and saw the woman. She was sitting on the shoulder of another of her monsters, but this one was bigger and appeared to be of the ice element. He pulled out his sword and prepared for battle. "Then again, maybe not."  
By the time Sakura and Tomoyo got there, the pig had already been transformed and the woman gone. Syaoran was not fairing so well against his opponents. Sakura used FIERY, and combined with Syaoran's fire spell scroll, made quick work of the woman's monster. "Return to your original animal form. Pig." With the danger gone, Sakura ran over to Syaoran, who insisted he was alright.  
"I'm glad."  
"I take it that woman was here?"  
"Yea. I'm sorry, I couldn't stop her from taking the Zodiac Power."  
"No, it's fine, I'm just glad your not hurt." Suddenly, Sakura and Syaoran felt the presence of another Zodiac Animal. "THE MONKEY!"  
By the time that Sakura and Syaoran got back to the monkey cage, the woman had already been there and left. Yue, who had anticipated that Sakura and Syaoran would be too busy with the pig to protect the monkey, was already there trying to fend off the beast, and keep it from going after any innocent people. When Sakura and Syaoran got there, Sakura was frightened at first, because the monkey's beast form was so big that it towered above the monkey cage. She quickly got over her fears, however, and used the spell to transform the monkey back to normal. However, it did not work.  
"Impossible… why?"  
"It's too strong, we'll have to weaken it before we can change it back."  
"How?"  
We'll have to fight it."  
"WE CAN''T!"  
"I know you don't want to hurt the animals, but it's the only way."  
"Sakura, please hurry, I don't know how much Yue can hold out."  
"Sakura!"  
"… Alright... but, how do we fight something so big?"  
"… That's a… good question."  
"… Big… Big, that's it! Syaoran I need your help."  
"You have an idea?"  
"Yea."  
"Alright."  
"FLY/FLY" Sakura and Syaoran flew up near the monkey's head. Syaoran got the monkey's attention with a thunder oufada, while Sakura got out another SAKURA CARD.  
"Transform this towering beast into a much smaller version of itself. LITTLE!" the monkey beast shrank considerably, and Sakura landed on the ground in front of it. "Return to your original animal form. Monkey." Once again, the monkey shrank and transformed back into an average, run of the mill primate. The monkey then ran up to Sakura and jumped into her arms.  
"I'm so glad."  
Syaoran then landed next to her, followed by Yue. "Sakura, you know, it won't always be that easy, I mean as using THE LITTLE card."  
"Yea… but, we'll have to, won't we?"  
"Yea."  
"Then, it can't be helped. I said I was going to help the animals, so that's what I'm going to do."  
"OH NO!"  
"What's wrong Tomoyo?  
"I missed my chance to film Sakura's bravery on film!"  
"T-Tomoyo…"  
"And I even had costumes for you to wear when we found the pig and the monkey as well!"  
"T-Tomoyo… H-hoe…"


	23. Sakura and the Forest Snake

"SAKURA!"  
The strange woman who was after the Zodiac Powers had somehow gotten a hold of Sakura. Sakura was wearing a cow-printed dress with a brown-leather vest and brown-leather boots. The two of them stood up in a tree looking down on the other Cardcaptors.  
"Let Sakura go now!"  
"If you want her, hand over that ox."  
"That's not gonna happen!" Despite Syaoran's words, the ox whom the woman was referring to stepped forward, towards her.  
"Mr. Ox, don't! Stay away!"  
"That's right 'Mr. Ox', don't stay away. You see how that is? I ask for something, and it happens. Now was that so hard?"  
"No Mr. Ox, go back! Don't get any closer!"  
"Quiet you brat." The woman used her free hand to absorb the ox's Zodiac Power. "Strength of an ox. Combined with the pig's lasers, the monkey's ability to transform, the sheep's astro projection and the dog's immortality that makes 5 down and 7 to go. You're not very good at this are you? Mufufufufu." The woman pushed Sakura out of the tree, who was caught by Syaoran, and disappeared. She was a second priority, however, as the Cardcaptors now had to deal with the transformed ox.

The battle with the ox had been very tiring, but Sakura finally managed to transform it back to normal. "Hoe, that was hard."  
"Sakura, are you alright?"  
"Yea, but we lost another one of the Zodiac Powers."  
Tomoyo thought carefully, "I know, why don't we take a break?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"How about a camping trip? This weekend."  
"B-but, Tomoyo, what if something happens and we're not here?"  
"It'll be alright, it's just for a weekend."  
Kero seemed more exited about the trip than Sakura, for certain reasons more than others. "Is there going to be camp food there?"  
"Yes, we can make s'mores."  
"Alright! I say we go!"  
"Kero you really are greedy when it comes to food."  
"Either way, Daidouji has a point, we could use a break."  
"Well, if you think it's a good idea Syaoran, I guess we could."  
"How come you always side with the kid!"  
"Then it's settled, Sakura, Li, meet me in the park Saturday morning and we'll head to the camp site from there."  
"OK… U-um, Yue, would you like to come two?"  
"I'll stay."  
"Are you sure?"  
"I'll keep an eye on things here, and let you know if something comes up."  
"Alright, but, if you change your mind, let me know."

Saturday morning found Sakura, Syaoran and Kero waiting in the park for Tomoyo. Sakura and Syaoran both had bags full of things they would need for camping, and Sakura had brought Blossom along as well.  
"I don't see why _that_ had to come two."  
"I thought Blossom might have fun."  
"Fun!"  
"For a plush toy who can transform into something like your true form, it's pretty pathetic to be afraid of such a small puppy."  
"What'd you say kid!"  
"Nothing, just that you're a pathetic scaredy cat."  
"Ha! I'm not afraid of anything!" Syaoran held Blossom in front of Kero's face, who let out a terrified little girls scream and jumped back a full meter. Syaoran cracked up laughing, and even Sakura could not help but let out a small chuckle. "THAT'S NOT FUNNY!"  
"One dose have to admit that that was very amusing."  
"Good morning Tomoyo."  
"Good morning, I see Kero and Li are getting along as well as usual." Sakura laughed nervously.

It did not take long to get to the campsite. They were dropped off at a small clearing in the forest by one of Tomoyo's body guards, who also left a rather large trunk with them in which Tomoyo had packed a couple of costumes for Sakura. They spent the rest of the morning setting up camp, and in the afternoon they passed time with a swim in a nearby lake. One of the costumes Tomoyo had brought with her doubled as a swim suit. It was a two piece draped in thin, almost see through colored fabric that looked almost like fish fins. Tomoyo spent a good hour filming Sakura in this, who found that she had forgotten about the camera after about 15 minutes. Blossom kept trying to play with Kero, who did _not_ enjoy it as much as his canine companion.

Latter on in the evening, they started the camp fire, and Kero was able to enjoy his s'mores. Kero stayed next to Tomoyo, as Blossom was curled up in Sakura's lap. Every now and then, Blossom would get up and crawl into Syaoran's lap, as she liked the way he would scratch her ears. After Blossom decided to take her fourth trip from Sakura's lap to Syaoran's, Sakura thought she felt something brush up against her leg and let out a rather loud scream.  
"What's wrong?"  
"T-t-there's something there." When they looked, however, there was nothing there. The, moments later, a snake appeared right on that spot.  
"It's the snake! The snake from the Zodiac!"  
"Really?"  
"So then that means that the power of the snake is invisibility, correct?"  
"Yea."  
"Thank goodness tat's all it is." Sakura bent down and picked up the snake, which Kero scolded her for.  
"Relax, it's just a Garder Snake, they're harmless."  
"It's actually kind of cute."  
"What is it with you and thinking these things are cute?"  
"Because they are."  
"In any case, we found the 6th animal. This means that coming out here was a good idea after all."  
"Yea. Mr. Snake, would you like to spend the night with us tonight?"  
"Great, now she's got another one."  
"Kero if you don't want to sleep with the animals, you can always sleep with Syaoran tonight." The expression on Kero's face at the mention of this idea showed that he would much rather go after the cards again, or at least sleep outside. Kero wound up swallowing his pride and decided to sleep with Syaoran, who almost said no until he saw the look Sakura was giving him.  
"Hoe, I wonder if those two will ever get along."  
"It would be nice, but I think the world may end if that where to happen."  
"Probably." Blossom almost went to sleep with the boys, but Sakura picked her up and brought her into the girl tent instead.

The next morning, Tomoyo insisted on Sakura wearing the costume she had made incase they had found the snake. Sakura and Tomoyo got started on breakfast, and by the time they were done, Syaoran and Kero emerged from their tent.  
"Good morning."  
"Morning."  
"Did you sleep well?"  
"I slept about as well as one could expect with those things so close by."  
"What are you talking about? You were snoring all night."  
"What was that?"  
"My, so that's what that sound was."  
"Waaa, why dose everyone keep picking on me?" once more, Sakura could not help but release a small chuckle, but was stopped when something suddenly caught her attention.  
"What's wrong?"  
"My, my, aren't we just adorable." The group turned around to find the mysterious woman standing right on the edge of the camp site. She looked amused, not only with the scene that had just played out infront of her, but also at the site of yet another Zodiac Animal. Kero transformed, Syaoran got out his sword, and Sakura released her star wand.  
"Tomoyo, stay with Blossom and the snake."  
"Alright."  
The three of them went after the woman, wo instead of trying to avoid them, fought them face toface. Tomoyo watchd from behind, filming every minute of the battle. "Sakura, you look so lovely." Tomoyo's daze over Sakura's cuteness was interrupted when she heard Blossom's growl. By the time Tomoyo turned around however, it was too late "Sakura!" Sakura turned around and saw that Tomoyo was strufgling against a living tree. Sakura ran over to help, but the woman beather over and began to absorb the snake's Zodiac Power. Like the others before it, the snake transformed into it's monsterous form.  
"'Relax' he says, 'it's just a harmless Garder Snake' he says."  
"Oh shut up."  
"Hey you two, this isn't the time to be fighting." As much as Keroberos and Syaoran did not want to admit it at the time, Sakura was right, they had to deal with the snake first, then they could fight all they wanted. Thhe three of themstruggledagainst the snake for a little bit, but Sakura was able to change it back to normal in the end. Once the danger had passed, Sakura ran over to check ojn Tomoyo. "Tomoyo, are you all right?"  
"Yes, I'm fine."  
"Something about the way that tree was moving, the one that attacked Deidouji, didn't seam right."  
"Wasn't that just a spell?"  
"It seamed more like it was alive, like it was a…"  
"A Zodiac Power?" The Cardcaptors turned around to find that the woman was still there. She had not fled like she usually did once she had obtained a Zodiac Power. "The Rat Power?"


	24. Sakura and the Healthy Horse

"I have to admit, when I found the rat, it seemed odd that only one of you would show up. I started thinking, 'Now what would cause those children to abandon their friend and allow him to face the rat all by himself?'"  
"Yue!"  
"Of course, I suppose he wasn't completely alone, now was he? After all, that boy was there two, I wonder how he's doing? Oh well, my pets seam to enjoy playing with him, I guess they like the tall brunets with big mouths."  
"TOYA!"  
"Oh, so you do know him, well I can see you have your hands full, I'll just leave you alone now. Ta ta children."  
"We have to go! We have to help Yue, and my brother!"  
"We can get there faster if we use THE FLY card."  
"OK."

Just as the woman had told them, Yue was struggling against the transformed rat, an one of her monsters had gotten a hold of Toya, who was underneath it's foot. Toya, however, was more concerned over Yue's well being than his own. When Sakura and the others got there, Syaoran got rid of the woman's monster while Sakura helped Yue against the transformed rat. It was much larger than even the monkey, so even THE LITTLE card was not enough. However, it was still easier for Sakura to fight once it had been cut down to size. "Return to your original animal form. Rat." Once Sakura had finished her work with the rat, she ran over to check on her brother. Surprisingly, he had not been harmed, and was already in a glare-match against Syaoran.  
"Toya, are you alright?  
"What took you so long?" Toya's comment made the vein in Syaoran's forehead twitch.  
"I-I'm sorry, we got held up with the snake and…" Toya put his hand on Sakura's head, smiled for a second, then walked away. Sakura knew he was only teasing her, but she still felt bad about putting him in danger.

The next day at school, Sakura was still sad about her brother. Rika saw that Sakura was not her usual cheerful self, and made an attempt to cheer her up.  
"Sakura, do you like horse back ridding?"  
"Huh?"  
"You see, my uncle just got this new horse, and he told me I could invite a friend over to go horse back ridding. Would you like to come?"  
"Thank you. You asked me because I'm not as cheerful today, didn't you? Thank you, I'd like that."  
"Great, how about this afternoon after school?"  
"Sure."

As planned, Sakura met Rika after school, and the two of them went to Rika's uncle's farm. The horse Rika was talking about was a beautiful black stallion.  
"She's so pretty."  
"Thank you, would you like to ride her now?"  
"Yea." Rika helped Sakura up on the horse's back, but once up, Sakura felt the presence of another Zodiac Animal. She also saw the woman, hidden from pain view, looking as if she had sensed the presence as well. The horse could sense the danger as well, and went uncontrollably wild, knocking Sakura off it's back. Sakura landed with a loud thump on the ground, and could feel a strong pain in the shoulder on which she landed.  
"Sakura! Are you alright? I'm so sorry, she's normally not like this." The horse touched Sakura's shoulder with it's muzzle, but it didn't hurt. In fact, all the pain that was there moments ago had vanished as if she had never been hurt. "Sakura?"  
"Yea, I'm fine. That didn't hurt at all, I must be pretty lucky."

When Sakura got home, she decided to call Syaoran. She was certain that it had been the horse that healed her.  
"Hello?"  
"Syaoran, I have a question,"  
"What is it?"  
"What is the power of the horse? From the Zodiac?"  
"Healing."  
"I knew it!"  
"Why, what happened?" Sakura told Syaoran about the horse at Rika's uncle's house. "So it touched you and you were no longer in any pain?"  
"Yea."  
"That sounds about right, do you remember where Sasaki's uncle lived?"  
"Yes."  
"Alright, we'll go there tonight to investigate. If it really was that woman you saw, she might go back there and try to take the Zodiac Power."

Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, Yue and Keroberos got together and went over to Rika's uncle's place as soon as it was dark. However, the horse was not in the barn that Rika had put it in, so they split up in search for it. It did not take long for Sakura and Tomoyo to find the horse in the fields. This moment of relief was short lived, however, when the girls heard a scream coming from the barn. When the girls got back to the barn, they found Syaoran face to face with the mysterious woman. She was using the reanimation power of the rat to bring various objects in the bard to life, and there were too many for Syaoran to counter. Sakura used THE SHEILD card to protect him from further harm, then faced the woman. Tomoyo and the horse went over to where Syaoran was, and the horse healed his injuries. He then joined Sakura in battle. They fought greatly as a team, but were still not able to keep the woman from stealing the horse's power. Per her usual routine, the woman did not stick around for the fight. So, once more, Sakura had to transform another animal back to normal. It wasn't until it was completed that Keroberos and Yue finally arrived to help.  
"Don't tell me, we missed the whole thing?"  
"Where have you been?"  
"Well, we would have been here sooner, but…"  
"Keroberos decided you would be alright and instead found something to eat."  
"Yue… Don't listen to…"  
"Kero."  
"What? I didn't…"  
"You greediness knows no bounds."  
"What was that kid?"  
"You heard me."  
"Why you…" Kero and Syaoran continued their argument until it was time to go, and for the rest of the night, Kero fought a loosing battle in trying to convince Sakura that the reason he had not been there for the fight was not that he was stuffing his face. Sakura engorged him the rest of the night, and he stopped once she fell asleep.


	25. Sakura's Tiger Craze

Sakura and Kero flew up to Sakura's bedroom window and Sakura knocked gently on it. MIRROR, having taken on Sakura's form, walked up to the window and let them in.  
"Welcome home. So how was it?"  
"Not good, we lost the rooster and the rabbit."  
"I see."  
"But, I'm not going to give up. Their's still two animals left, if I can just keep her from taking their Zodiac Powers."  
"I'm sure you can do it."  
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Sakura rushed into bed, Blossom joined her, Kero turned off the light, and MIRROR turned back into a card. "Sakura, are you still up?" The door opened and Fujitaka popped his head in and looked at Sakura, who was lying in bed with her eyes closed. "Good night Sakura."  
Fujitaka left the room and Sakura and Kero let out a sigh of relief. "Hey, Sakura, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."  
"What is it Kero?"  
"Well, it's about the Zodiac animals. There's a good chance we only have ONE left."  
"What are you talking about? We still have to find the Tiger and the Dragon."  
"Well, that's the thing, there are no dragons. I mean, I've heard rumors that they lived thousands of years ago, but even if they did, they have all died out."  
Sakura thought back to something Syaoran had said about the Zodiac powers. He said that if all of the powers were to be combined, a new, ultimate power would be born. "But, if there are only 11 animals, and you need all 12 powers to get the ultimate power…"  
"It could just be that she wants the Zodiac Powers them selves. Or maybe she just doesn't know that the Dragons are extinct. In any case, we still have to be on our guard. Even if the Dragon is gone, we still have the Tiger to deal with."  
"Yea, and I can ask Syaoran about the Dragon tomorrow. We're going to the carnival with Tomoyo, Naoko, Rika, Chiharu and Yamizaki."  
"What! Can I come two!"  
"Sorry Kero, if it was just me Syaoran and Tomoyo you could, but some someone might see you. I'll bring you back a souvenir, OK?"  
"Alright. Good night Sakura."  
"Good night Kero."

The next day, Tomoyo, Syaoran, Naoko, Rika, Chiharu and Yamizaki met at the gates of the amusment park, where the carnival was being held. And, true to her nature, Sakura was late. Finally, Sakura rived and they could go in.  
"Sorry I'm late."  
"It's alright," Naoko's eyes lit up as she spoke, "I've been waiting show to come. The ring master is famous."  
"Everyone, did you know? Ring masters have magical powers, it's true! In the old days, witches and such would get out of being burned at the stakes by entertaining the masses. And you know the part of the show where the call on volunteers? That originally got started when the witches wanted to get revenge for having to entertain mortals, so they called on volunteers and put spells on them, and then…"  
Having finally had enough of Yamizaki's lie, Chiharu grabed him by the neck and started shaking him. "Will you knock it off already?" Sakura and Syaoran blushed at the fact that they had once again been sucked in by Yamizaki's lies.

The group went strait to the circus tent. This show was all Naoko could talk about all week. They filled into the tent and sat 7 across in the third row. Sakura sat between Tomoyo and Syaoran, and decided this might be a good time to ask him about the Dragon.  
"Syaoran,"  
"Yes?"  
"There's something I wanted to ask you."  
"What is it?"  
"Um, it's about…" Sakura was interrupted, however, when the ringmaster came out to start the show.  
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome! Are you ready for deth defying stunts, amazing feets of agility and strength, and the most fantastic display of skills and tricks you've ever seen?" The crowd went wild in response, and as the audience roared, a box with a clothe over it came up through a trap door in the floor. "Now, for my first trick, I'm going to need a volunteer." A spotlight shone on the audience and began to move around randomly. Naoko crossed her fingers on both hands , praying that she would be picked. Her hopes were lost, however, when the spotlight landed on Sakura. Sakura was embarrassed to go down, but Tomoyo insisted she did. As Sakura went down, Tomoyo got out her video camera and started filming.  
"And what is your name young lady?"  
"Sakura."  
"Well Sakura, do you like cats?"  
"Yes."  
"Then do I have a treat for you." The ringmaster raised her hand and the sheet over the box flew off. But the box was a gage, and inside the cage was a 450 lb Bengal Tiger. The crowd grew louder in excitement, but Sakura was not as exited. The tiger pounded on the cage with it's giant claw. "Don't worry Sakura, we wouldn't dream of letting him out of his cage. He's extremely vicious, and to do so would be catastrophic." This did not help with Sakura's nerves, nor did what happened next. Without warning, the door on the cage dropped, and the Tiger came out. The crowd panicked and rushed out of the tent as fast as they could. Syaoran was about to jump in to help, but he and Tomoyo were swept away by the crowd.  
Sakura panicked. The ringmaster just said releasing the tiger was dangerous, yet here she was, face to face with the vicious feline. If she used magic, the ringmaster would surely see her. But if she didn't, she could be eaten alive. The Tiger raced towards her, and Sakura closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. However, instead of the searing pain of teeth being sunk into her, Sakura felt something warm and fluffy nuzzling her. Sakura opened her eyes to see that the warm fluffy thing was the Tiger. Sakura giggled as the Tiger began to lick her affectionately. The ringmaster was stunned. The Tiger was supposed to eat her, not lick her. Then the ringmaster had another thought, one that made her much more exited. She raised hr hand and swung it, emitting a sickle like blade of magic at Sakura and the Tiger. It just missed them, but startled the Tiger into releasing a strong amount of magical power. Sakura instantly recognized this to be the presence of a Zodiac Animal, and the ringmaster was the woman who had been after them. The woman was caught off guard again, yet somehow pleased, when still nothing happened. As Sakura prepared to release her star wand, the woman took the opportunity to steal the Tiger's Zodiac Powers. Sakura tried to stop her, but it was no use and the Tiger was already transforming. Then Sakura heard her name being called from behind. Syaoran and Tomoyo had managed to break free from the crowd and made their way back. Syaoran ran up to help Sakura while Tomoyo stayed a safe distance away to film.  
"Sakura, are you alright?"  
"Syaoran, the ringmaster, she's that woman, the one after the Zodiac Powers."  
"What?" Syaoran turned his attention towards the woman.  
"Well who'd have thought." The woman's words were so soft that Sakura and Syaoran could not hear, but they heard what she said next. "Hope you children have fun. With any luck your new little friend there will do my dirty work for me. But if by some miracle you do make it out alive, try making this a little more entertaining, will you?" with that, the woman floated gently off the ground and flew away.  
"How's she flying?"  
"It's the Zodiac Powers. The Rooster is levitation and the Rabbit is speed. When combined, they enable her to fly." Suddenly, Sakura and Syaoran remembered the transformed Tiger that they had to take care of. The Tiger was not that tough, actually, and it did not take long before Sakura transformed it back into a Tiger. Then, voices were heard, and Sakura Syaoran and Tomoyo took their cue to leave.  
Deep in the shadows, the woman watched as the Cardcaptors ran away. "I knew there was something up with that girl. The Tiger's Zodiac Power didn't affect her at all." The woman released the Tiger's Zodiac power and was split into two people. One looked even meaner than she had before, and the other looked, well nice. The meaner of the two spoke in an equally darker tone. "As I thought. There's nothing wrong with the Zodiac Power. The power of the Tiger is balance. It separates one's dark side from their light side. If it did not affect that little brat, then…"  
"Y-you meannie, you're gonna use that sweet little girl, aren't you!"  
"What do you think?"  
"T-that's not very nice you know."  
"Oh please." The two versions of the woman combined to become one, and she disappeared into the darkness.


	26. Sakura, Syaoran, and the Dragon Ruins P1

Early in the morning all of class 7-9 was gathered next to the gate of Kiliko Jr. High. Instead of the usual uniform, everyone was wearing tan, button down shirts and light brown cargo shorts. Syaoran pushed through the crowd looking for Sakura, but found Tomoyo instead.  
"Daidouji, have you seen Sakura?"  
"No, I was looking for her myself. It's not like Sakura to be late for a field trip, and she seemed excited about this one too."  
Syaoran thought back to the day before hand. Sakura had seemed exited about their field trip. They were to go to see how archeologists worked at real ruins the next two days. At first Syaoran thought it was because she knew how much he liked history and such things, but she said that there was something particularly special about this trip. He asked what, but she just told him that it would be a surprise.  
"Any idea what she meant by that?"  
"I have no idea."  
Syaoran continued trying to figure it out, but his thoughts were interrupted by another conversation.  
"Hey any idea who our chaperone is supposed to be?"  
"I heard he's supposed to be a real archeologist who works on the site."  
"Your crazy, it's someone's parent. Gotta be."  
"Yea, how are they supposed to get a real archeologist?"  
"Yea, no kidding."  
"Hey, is that them?" one of the boys in the group pointed at a car pulling up next to the school. The car parked next to the gate, and the passenger side door opened, followed by the driver's. A young girl stepped out of the passenger side wearing the same outfit as her class mates.  
"There she is." Tomoyo waved at Sakura who smiled as she saw her friends. Syaoran's cheeks turned red when he saw Fujitaka get out with her and lock the car. That was the surprise Sakura had been talking about, her father was the chaperone.  
"Morning Syaoran, morning Tomoyo."  
"Morning."  
"Goon morning. So this is the surprise you were talking about."  
With the arrival of the chaperone and the last of the class, the children all gathered onto the bus. Sakura decided to sit with her dad, so Syaoran and Tomoyo had to sit by themselves. Tomoyo noticed how nervous Syaoran was and giggled. "I haven't seen you like this since you were trying to tell Sakura your feelings for her."  
"I-I'm not…"  
Tomoyo giggled again. "Li, you can relax. Sakura's dad likes you."  
"But I wonder if he would feel the same if he knew Sakura and I were…"  
"I'm sure he would be fine with it, because that is the kind of person Mr. Kinomoto is."

"Li, did Sakura ever tell you about her mother?"  
"Huh? Just that she died a long time ago. Why?"  
"My mother told me once, that when Sakura's father married her mother, her entire family was against it. Sakura's mother and my mother were cousins, and no one was against it more than her. But despite this, he was the one she chose, and no amount of complaining and arguing could change that. I'm sure that Mr. Kinomoto would remember this, and not wish to put Sakura through what her mother went through, and would also trust Sakura's judgment. So even if he were to find out, I'm sure it would not make a difference."

When they got to the digging site, the class was sent to find their rooms in a large cabin to put their stuff away. Once everyone was settled in, they were gathered together at this large, sandbox looking pit. They were told to look around until they found a stone tablet. Once they found their tablets they would use these books that had been set out for them to try to decipher what was written on them. They could also have lunch while they did so. Once they were done, they would have to show it to one of the archeologists. It took Sakura a while to find a tablet, but then she managed to find on with not much on it. Sakura looked around and saw Syaoran was already hard at work on his town tablet, and decided to join him. She sat down next to him and saw that his tablet had a lot more on it.  
"It must be hard huh?"  
"Yea, but I'm used to it."  
"You mean from learning Japanese?"  
"That, and a lot of my books aren't written in Chinese or Japanese. For instance, a lot of the books Clow left behind were written in English. Not only that, but I've got a lot of other books written in various other languages."  
"Amazing, oh but I guess we should get back to work."  
"I'm done."  
"Already?"  
"May I see it then?" Sakura and Syaoran were startled when Fujitaka suddenly appeared behind them. "Syaoran moved like a robot as he handed the stone tablet and the sheet of paper, on which he had written the translation, over to Fujitaka. Fujitaka looked over Syaoran's work carefully, and when he was done, looked at him and smiled. "Correct."  
"Amazing! Syaoran, you really are good at these things."  
"And how are you doing?"  
"Ehe, it's not as easy as it looks."  
"I'm sure you can do it. and if you need help, just ask Syaoran here." Syaoran's face got even redder than before. Fujitaka walked away to check on the other students' progress. Syaoran calmed himself down while Sakura got back to work.

It took Sakura a good half hour to finish translating what was written on the stone tablet. The entire time, Sakura noticed, Syaoran seemed kind of detached. She did not know why, but he kept looking over at the ruins. This continued the rest of the night, and kept Sakura from falling asleep. She decided to go into the lobby to see if he was still awake. Sure enough, Syaoran was out on the balcony staring at the ruins.  
"Syaoran, is everything alright?"  
"Huh? Oh, it's you Sakura."  
"You've been staring at them all day, is something wrong?"  
"Can't you feel it?"  
"Hoe?"  
"Ever since this afternoon I've felt a presence coming from the ruins. It feels like the presence the Zodiac Animals had."  
"Oh, you're right I do feel it… That reminds me. Kero mentioned the other day how the Dragons were all extinct. We found the other 11 Animals already, so how is it there is another?"  
"Hm, it could be that they went into hiding, or maybe there is another animal that has taken the place of the Dragon. What ever it is, it seems to have a connection to those ruins. Why don't you ask your father about it tomorrow? Ask him if they've found anything written about Dragons there."  
"Alright, in the mean time, we should try and get some sleep."  
"Alright, good night."  
"Good night."

The next day, class 7-9 was to take a tour of the ruins. Sakura figured this would be a good time to ask her dad about the Dragons. Sakura pushed her way to the front where her father and the other leaders were.  
"Um, dad…"  
"Yes Sakura?"  
"I was wondering, do you know if anything has been found about dragons?"  
"Dragons?"  
"Yes."  
Fujitaka thought about it a moment, then gave his daughter a thoughtful look. "Tell Syaoran, that if he want's to know, he should come and ask me himself."  
"Hoe? B-but… OK." Sakura made her way to the back of the line to where Tomoyo and Syaoran were.  
"So what did he say?"  
"He said, if you want to know, you should ask him yourself." Syaoran was at a loss. On one hand, he could barely speak when he was in Fujitaka's presence, but on the other, he knew how much this mission meant to Sakura. He was also somewhat curious. Syaoran pushed his way up to where Fujitaka was and fought to keep himself calm.  
"U-um…"  
"So, you wanted to know about the dragons?"  
"Y-yes."  
Fujitaka gave Syaoran a thoughtful look. "Would you like to see it?"  
"Huh?"  
"The room with the dragons."  
"Is that alright?"  
Fujitaka looked over to one of his teammates and asked if he could take over for him. He agreed and said he would send for them when it was time to leave.

Fujitaka took Syaoran to a room in the ruins that even looked like it was related to dragons. Aside from the usual hieroglyphics, there were stone statues of them everywhere. Fujitaka handed Syaoran a very old looking book.  
"Here."  
"Huh, what is…"  
"If you would, please decipher these hieroglyphics."  
"Uh…"  
"You wanted to know about the dragons didn't you? My team has'nt gotten around to deciphering this room yet, so if you want to know, you will have to do it yourself."  
"But, I'm not…"  
"It's alright. I'm sure you can do it."

A couple of hours passed, and finally someone came to let them know that it was time to leave.  
"Oh, it's that time already? Sorry Syaoran, it looks like you did not get to finish."  
"That's alright. Um, here, thank you."  
"That's alright, you can keep it."  
"B-but don't you need it?"  
"I have another one back home. You can keep that one." Syaoran and Fujitaka went back to the busses to head home. Syaoran joined Sakura and Tomoyo and told them what happened.  
"So did you find anything?"  
"No, I ran out of time. But there is defiantly a connection between those ruins and the Zodiac Legend. There was also something about a summoning, but I didn't get to find out more."  
"Perhaps you are supposed to summon the dragon with the Zodiac Power."  
"That's gotta be it! If we can figure out how to summon the Dragon, we can make it so that that woman can't!"  
"But the only way we can do that is for Li to finish what he was doing in the ruins."  
"Yea, they probably won't let a bunch of kids in. even if we told them why I'm sure they wouldn't believe us."  
"That's why, we won't ask."  
"Hoe?"  
"I take it you have a plan?"  
"I do. We'll come back tonight. We can use THE THROUGH card to get in. Sakura's father gave me his book, and it shouldn't take long for me to finish."  
"I'll have Kero and Yue come two incase that woman shows up."  
"And I'll provide the costume!"  
T-Tomoyo."


	27. Sakura, Syaoran, and the Dragon Ruins P2

That night, Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, Keroberos and Yue met at the ruins as planned. Syaoran was wearing his ceremonial robes, and Sakura was wearing a tan costume with brown on the seams. They had to figure out what was written in the Room of Dragons in hopes of stopping the mysterious woman from stealing the last Zodiac Power and gaining the Ultimate Power. Sakura used THE THROUGH card to sneak everyone in, and Syaoran lead the way to the Room of the Dragons. It did not take long to find the room, and Syaoran got right to work.  
"I still don't see why we're here."  
"That woman might find out what were doing and try to stop us. And if she dose, we'll be ready for her."  
"But still…"  
"Kero, Syaoran's trying to concentrate."

Sakura and the others sat by while Syaoran continued his work. It took a bit longer than expected, and Keroberos would not stop complaining from boredom. Finally, Syaoran closed the book and took a look at the paper on which he had written the translation.  
"Are you done?  
"Yea, I think so, but this doesn't make any cense."  
"What do you mean? What dose it say?"  
"Well the short version is that in order to summon the Dragon, it has to be presented by someone with a pure heart."  
"Well then we've got nothing to worry about."  
"What do you mean Kero?"  
"Such a person dose not exist. You see, every living thing has good and evil in them. Depending on how much stronger one side is than another determines the nature of that person. So you see, there is no such thing as a pure-hearted person."  
"That's what you think." The Cardcaptors turned around and saw the strange woman perched on top of the largest of the dragon statues in the front of the room. "It so happens there IS someone with a pure heart."  
"That's imposable! For there to be someone like that would be…"  
"I didn't believe it at first either, but then I thought, why go through the trouble of creating a way to summon the dragon if the kind of person needed did not exist? So I decided to find the other 11 animals and search for this person with the pure heart. Much to my surprise, this same journey led me strait to the person I was looking for."  
"Who! Tell me who it is right now!"  
"But of course." The woman activated the Rooster Power and made Sakura float up next to her.  
"SAKURA!"  
"Put me down!"  
"Not a chance." The woman used the rooster power again to lift the statue she was sitting on to reveal a passage way. The woman flew down and through the passageway, taking Sakura with her. Syaoran and the others immediately ran after them, but the woman used the Pig's power to cause the ceiling of the passageway to cave in, blocking their way. With the treat of being stopped gone, the woman took Sakura to a room beyond the passageway. This room was bigger, completely round, and the ceiling seemed to go on forever. In the center of the floor was a circular raise with a design on it. The design looked similar to Sakura's magic circle, but the prongs on the star were slightly thiner. The woman placed Sakura in the middle of the circle.  
"Oh great Dragon of the Zodiac. I give you your sacrifice, the girl with the pure heart. Now, rise, rise and grant me your power!" Sakura braced herself for the worst, but when she opened her eyes, she realized nothing happened. "What?"  
"So I guess Kero was right after all."  
"Do you know what that makes you?... Expendable!" The woman prepared to attack Sakura, but just before she did, the circle beneath her began to glow. The woman backed off as Sakura was lifted into the air on the back of a giant red dragon. At first glance, the Dragon looked intimidating, but he also had a majestic glow about him. Sakura stared in awe at the magnificent creature who's back she now sat on. The woman did not waist any time. She flew up and chanted the spell to steal the Zodiac Powers. Sakura's awe turned into horror as the magnificent Dragon transformed into another monster, more terrifying than any other. With the last zodiac power finally hers, the woman blasted a whole in the ceiling and flew out. Sakura got out the star key and started the spell to release it. She was halve way through when the Dragon shook her off his back, and Sakura plummeted towards the ground. She was caught, however, by that all too familiar spell. When she had safely landed, Sakura ran over to her friends and gave Syaoran a big hug.  
"Sakura, I'm so glad your alright."  
"Um, Sakura, Li, as much as I'd rather to continue filming this, don't you think we should focus on the Dragon?"

Sakura and Syaoran used THE FLY card to get up to where the Dragon was. The whole in the ceiling was not big enough for the Dragon to fly out, but it could easily bust through it. The Dragon shot flames out of it's mouth, which were a little difficult to avoid. Sakura, Syaoran, Keroberos and Yue fought with all their might. This Dragon was stronger then any of the other Zodiac Animals they had faced. After a while, Tomoyo thought she heard voices coming from the other end of the passageway.  
"Sakura, someone's coming!"  
"Alright. I think it's weak enough now, let's try it." Sakura positioned herself in front of the Dragon and raised her Star Wand. "Return to your original animal form, Dragon!" With Sakura's last spell, the Dragon was wrapped in a bright light and transformed back into it's true form.  
"We did it!"  
"Sakura."  
"Hoe?" Sakura looked around to see who had called her name. It had been a voice she did not recognize. Then Sakura realized that the voice, was the Dragon's.  
"Sakura, thank you for helping me. No, not just me, but all of the Zodiac Animals. However I am more than just the Dragon from the Zodiac.  
"What do you mean?"  
"The time I came from, was not as peaceful as this one. The world was filled with war and hate, many people suffered. When things got out of control, my brethren and I would step in and quell the fighting. We had been entrusted with the powers of the six elements. Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Lightning and Wood, our strength was unmatched. However, as all living things, we were soon to meet our fated end. The world had finally reached a state of peace, so we decided to seal away our powers, until the day when they would be needed. We agreed, that if a pure-hearted champion were to arise, that person, and only that person, would be able to inherit our awesome powers."  
"But, I'm not…"  
"I have been watching you for some time now. You were first drawn to my attention when you opened the Clow Book. You weren't all that impressive at first glance, but you never gave up, and you always tried your hardest, not for your own sake, but for the sake of others. Another clue was your smile."  
"My smile?"  
"A warm, kind smile that melts the hearts of the cruel and corrupt. Why do you think Dijoso fell in love with you? The last is the Zodiac Animals. They are drawn to those with pure hearts, as they are the only ones who can cast the spell to transform them back to normal after loosing their powers. And so, with this evidence, I ask you, Sakura Kinamoto, to take on my powers, and to seek out my brethren's as well."  
"But, if I do that, won't you…"  
"It's alright. We would disappear completely if you don't. This way, we can continue to fight against evil, and the first would be that woman who stole the Zodiac Powers."  
"Do it Sakura. If he's offering, why not accept?"  
"We will need the help against that woman."  
"Alright, then I accept.  
"Stand in the center of that circle, and hold your wand out." Sakura did as she was instructed and took the same pose as she had done when Yue named her master of the cards. The star on Sakura's wand began to spin, faster and faster, and the circle upon which she stood glowed brightly. The Dragon then was sucked in by Sakura's wand, and the wand itself began to glow. When it was all over, Sakura opened her eyes.  
"Sakura, you look so dignified."  
"T-Tomoyo."  
"But, Sakura, look at your wand. It's changed." Everyone looked at Sakura's wand. Tomoyo was right, the end was slightly larger and the circle opened at the top. Not only that, but the star was now a double star, just like the one on the circle in the middle of the floor."  
"Alright, now all that's left is to deal with that woman. Syaoran, lets…" Sakura was interrupted by the sound of something dropping to the floor. They turned around towards the passageway, and saw that the item dropped was a flashlight, and the owner of the flashlight, was none other than Fujitaka.  
"Sakura?"


	28. Sakura, Syaoran, and the Dragon Ruins P3

"Sakura?"  
"Dad? U-um…" Sakura looked from her dad to her wand, to her dad, to her friends, then back to her dad. Suddenly, the ground started shaking and Sakura was brought back to the present.  
"What's going on?"  
"It's that woman, she must be using the Zodiac powers."  
"Sakura, we have to go."  
"But…" The ground started shaking again.  
"Sakura." Sakura got out THE FLY card and she and Syaoran used it.  
"Tomoyo, stay with my dad."  
"Good luck Sakura." Sakura, Syaoran, Keroberos, and Yue flew up through the hole the woman had made in the ceiling.

The woman hadn't left the ruins. She sensed Sakura and the others come up behind her.  
"So you're still alive after all. Good, I was hoping to test my new powers. You four will make good for target practice." Yue was the first to attack. He launched a fury of diamond-like shards at the woman, but she used the Rat power of motion to send the attack flying right back at him. Next was Keroberos, who shot flames from his mouth. When the flames died, however, the woman still stood there, unsigned, and unscathed. "Let me show you what a real fire is like." The woman raised her hand at Keroberos and Yue and they were suddenly engulfed in white hot flames. The two of them fell, unconscious.  
"KERO! YUE!"  
Syaoran charged at the woman with his sword. She caught it with her hand, but Syaoran was one step ahead. "Reitei Shorai!" The woman was thrown back hard by the close range thunder spell.  
"Why you little… You'll pay for that!"  
"Reitei…"  
"Spell Reversal!" The woman used her spell to throw Syaoran's back at him. Woman-3, Cardcaptors-0.  
"SYAORAN NO!" The woman turned her attention to Sakura. "What should I do? If Kero, Yue, and Syaoran couldn't stop her, how can I? she was strong enough to begin with, but now she has all the Zodiac Powers, and the Ultimate Power as well. How? How can I..." Suddenly, Sakura felt a presence coming from one of her cards. The presence was similar to that of the Dragon. She searched her deck to find the presence was coming from THE FIERY card. Then, Sakura heard the Dragon's voice.  
"Sakura, you mustn't be afraid. You have the strength to defeat her."  
"But how? She's so much stronger than I am."  
"That is the power she stole from the Zodiac animals. Her true strength, well, why do you think she went after the Zodiac Powers in the first place?"  
"But…"  
"Use FIERY. My powers have been embedded in this card. My powers should be more than enough. Also, I believe you can do this. It's all right. Now, use the Dragon Powers"  
"You don't mean to fight me do you? Just look at what happened to your friends. I am invincible. With These Zodiac Powers, I cannot be beaten."  
"Give them back. The Zodiac Powers aren't yours. They belong to the animals, now give them back!"  
Furious at Sakura's demand, the woman charged at her, preparing to attack at full force. Sakura was ready for her. She touched her wand to THE FIERY card. "Dragon Power! FIERY!" from the card shot flames in the shape of a dragon. The flames engulfed the woman and she fell to the ground hard. Sakura landed next to the woman, wand at the ready. The woman got up and prepared to attack, but nothing happened. Then, spirit projections of the 12 animals appeared. At first, they surrounded Sakura, then, after a few minutes or so, disappeared.  
"Wha-what did you do!"  
"I gave them back. The zodiac powers don't belong to you, and they don't belong to me either, so I gave them back."  
"You idiot! Besides the one who initially took the Zodiac Powers, the only other person who can have them is the one chosen by the animals themselves! Now no one can use them!" In her rage, the woman summoned one of her creatures, but Sakura defeated it easily. It was over, and she knew it. She ran, and did not look back,

"Sakura!" Sakura turned around and saw Syaoran, Keroberos and Yue rushing over towards her. Sakura ran to them and hugged Syaoran, glad they were all all right. With her friends safe, and the threat of the woman gone, Sakura had one last thing to take care of. Sakura looked over to the ruins' entrance and saw her father with Tomoyo. The four of them walked back to the ruins, and Sakura prepared for the worst.  
"Uh-um…"  
"Tomoyo told me everything." Sakura was caught of guard when, instead of scolding her, Fujitaka was hugging her. "I am so proud of you. You use your magic for such good. I'm so very proud."


End file.
